Very Strange Things
by FirstCenturyBC
Summary: Charlie & Joey awaken after spending their first night together. But very strange things are happening in Summer Bay! For fans of the romantic comedy horror genre!
1. Chapter 1

Hi all – I'd just like to say another big thanks to all the dedicated readers out there of the the Moonlight Shadow saga, and thanks too for your very kind and supportive reviews and emails. This time I decided to write something quite different – very different, in fact. It begins the morning after Charlie & Joey's first night together. In my MoonShad story, they spend their first night together at a nearby motel - and this new story was inspired by a dream I had the night before I began to write it. For those of you who have read the Moonlight Shadow saga, consider it an 'alternative' to Moonlight Shadow 2 – although if you haven't read it – it won't matter. You'll still get the gist of the story. This is a teaser chapter, and I'm currently writing chapter 5. I'm not going to give too much away about the story line, but I'm sure that by the end of this chapter you'll have a good idea what it's going to be about!

Very strange things are happening in Summer Bay ...

**VERY STRANGE THINGS**

**Chapter 1**

Joey awoke with a jump, her entire body flinched. She sat upright in bed, gasping for breath. Her ears still echoed with the shrill, deafening scream she was convinced she had just heard. Had it been a nightmare? She blinked and wiped the sleep from her eyes, trying to wake herself fully. After considering it unlikely that the scream was real, she decided it must have all been in her sleepy head - although she couldn't recall anything about the dream she supposed she'd just had.

In her sudden fright, she had momentarily forgotten about the naked and beautiful brunette fast asleep beside her. Charlie lay facing away from her, oblivious to her distress. Joey sighed in relief and lay back down behind her, wriggling close and pressing her chest against Charlie's back. She took long, deep breaths and closed her eyes again. Feeling Charlie's warmth and softness against her helped ease her nerves and calm her down a little. She wrapped her arm around Charlie's waist and rested her hand on her perfectly flat and tanned tummy. It felt so good and she hoped that Charlie would wake up soon so that they could enjoy a repeat of the amazing time they'd had the night before. Perhaps if she were to gently stroke her skin, it might just be enough to rouse her – in more ways than one. She thought it was a good idea and decided to give it a try.

Charlie turned around to face her the moment she awoke, the huge smile on her face revealing her good mood.

"Good morning," she whispered.

"Good morning," replied Joey.

Charlie immediately noticed Joey's pallor and sweat-beaded brow. "Are you okay?"

Joey nodded her head. "Yes ... I'm okay ... I ... I just had a bad dream and it woke me up, that's all."

Charlie leaned in and bestowed her with a comforting kiss. Joey took advantage of the gesture and wrapped her arms around her. They became lost in their embrace, which turned more passionate as their bodies rubbed together, arousing them more and more. Joey's idea had worked perfectly.

--------x--------

An hour and three-quarters later they lay exhausted side-by-side. Joey gazed dreamily up at the ceiling. She had awoken just once during the night and she had worried herself silly wondering what Charlie _really_ felt about taking their relationship to the next level. Had she taken things with her too far too soon? Maybe Charlie hadn't been ready to sleep with her and would freak out as soon as she woke up. Joey had planned to talk to her about it first thing in the morning, to reassure her, but as she glanced at her lying contentedly beside her with her eyes closed, her naked body sprawled across the bed, soaking with sweat, she realised she needn't have worried at all! In fact, Charlie seemed to be accepting their love and attraction to one another very readily. It reassured her.

She picked up the tv remote and switched it on. The screen flickered and faded into view, illuminating the room softly. A repeat of 'Neighbours' was airing on Channel 10. Joey had never really enjoyed watching soaps, considering them to be much too far-fetched, and she wasn't going to start watching now. She changed the channel quickly, and then again, trying to find something interesting. The volume was low and she could not hear what was being said very well, but she didn't want to turn it up in case Charlie was sleeping again - she couldn't tell. A 24 hour news channel was displaying the usual sensationalist banner ... 'BREAKING NEWS.'

News channels everywhere had taken to over-using the phrase in the past few years, especially in the wake of 9/11. They'd all seemed to have been heavily influenced by the instigators FOX NEWS and SKY NEWS.

BREAKING NEWS could now mean anything from reports of deadly hurricanes and tsunamis to nondescript, non-news stories such as half-starved, overpaid supermodels and their court appearances for drug possession or drink driving.

Consequently, Joey didn't pay too much attention to the headlines that morning -

'_BREAKING NEWS: Chaos in Sydney as riots engulf city'_

She stared at the screen, wondering why such a thing had happened. Maybe it was a student protest that had gotten out-of-hand. Or perhaps a workers union strike that turned into a violent, angry protest. She changed to another channel, knowing how stories tend to be exaggerated in the press all the time. It was CNN NEWS. Their headline read -

'_BREAKING NEWS: Los Angeles dead rise. Republicans blame Obama'_

Joey frowned at the first sentence. What the hell did it mean? Had there been another LA earthquake and the death toll had risen? She changed the channel again in annoyance. Headlines could sometimes be _too_ vague, she thought. The movie 'Jaws' was just beginning. She set the remote down to watch a little. Even though she'd always slightly resented the Spielberg classic for giving one of her favourite sea creatures an undeserved bad image, she had loved watching it ever since she was a child. It had never scared her. She'd wanted to be the shark – and considered it to be an amazing and beautiful animal. As she grew up, her love of sharks only increased. She thought they were the perfect product of millions of years of evolution. Her father had told her the horror stories of how, back in 1975, when the movie was first released, wannabe fishermen all over the world would hire boats and head out to sea with their beer cans, just so they could catch and kill a shark – any shark. They believed Great White's held grudges and stalked victims just like in the movie. Joey remembered telling her dad at the time that if she had met any of them, she would have told them just how stupid they were.

Charlie opened her eyes and sat up, perching on her elbows to look at the screen.

"Ooh ... we're gonna need a bigger boat," she quoted in her best masculine voice.

Joey giggled. Charlie was obviously a fan too, and the connection pleased Joey very much.

"What time is it?" asked Charlie.

"It's 9:30. Are you hungry yet? Want some breakfast?"

Charlie shook her head, smiling. "No ... I'd rather we stayed here a bit longer."

Joey grinned. She loved that idea too. "I wonder what time we need to check out. I'd better ring reception and ask."

She picked up the phone and dialled '0' for the front desk. It rang. No answer.

"That's strange. No-one's picking up."

"Maybe they're busy with guests. Give it a minute and try again."

Joey nodded. She thought of a good way to kill some time, and snuggled close to Charlie, kissing her softly on the lips. They lay their heads beside one another on Charlie's pillow.

"I love kissing you," whispered Joey. "I don't really want to stop ... I mean ... like ... ever."

Charlie giggled at Joey's sweet and very honest words. "Ditto," she whispered, before drawing her lips close once more.

After a few minutes Joey picked up the phone and redialled. She needed to know how much time they had left, so that they could make the most of it. Again, no-one picked up the call. Hanging the phone back on the receiver, she rested back against her pillow.

"Nobody's there, Charlie. I'm just going to assume we have to be out of here by eleven. That's the usual time, right?"

"I guess so. But ... maybe we could stretch it out for half an hour longer," said Charlie, slipping her arms around Joey again and kissing her. Joey responded, pressing her lips against Charlie's more deeply, her tongue flicking gently against her lips. She kissed her neck – tracing kisses all the way up to her ear. Suddenly Joey noticed a few blotches on Charlie's skin behind her earlobe. She studied their shape, size and colour. Never before had she seen anything like them. They were smaller than a 5 cent coin, and were mostly red with a few unusual elongated purple specks.

"Charlie ... do you have ... any allergies?"

"Err ... no ... not that I'm aware of. Why?"

"You have ... some ... red marks behind your ear. They look strange."

Charlie swung her legs over to the side of the bed, stood up and walked over to the mirror to investigate. Joey watched her as she walked across the room, remarking to herself just how beautiful Charlie looked, her hair flowing loosely down over her back and shoulders. Charlie raised her hair up to get a better look. Three blotches were easily visible.

"What the-?"

"Do they hurt? Or itch?"

Charlie touched them with her fingertip but couldn't feel anything. They weren't painful and she didn't feel the urge to scratch them. "No. Maybe I'm allergic to you," she teased.

Joey stood up and walked over to her, kissing her back and shoulders. Something caught her eye and her mouth fell open.

"Charlie ... you have more behind your other ear," she said – the concern in her voice was noticeable.

Charlie checked herself in the mirror again. Three more blotches behind her right ear protruded from her skin, very similar to those behind her left. They made her feel a little anxious. What was causing the irritation? She wanted to know.

"Maybe you should make an appointment with you doctor ... and take some antihistamine or something," suggested Joey.

Charlie agreed with her and promised to do it as soon as she got home.

A faint low-frequency sound could be heard coming from outside their room. It became progressively louder until it almost drowned out the sound of their tv. Joey ran to the window, followed by Charlie. When they pulled the curtain back they saw a car speed past them, much too fast. It was swerving all over the road. Charlie guessed it was travelling at almost 130 km/h.

"That guy's lucky I'm not on duty," growled Charlie, momentarily forgetting about her affliction.

"He seems to be in a hurry," observed Joey dryly.

Charlie moved back over to the mirror to look at herself again, checking the rest of her body for similar marks. There were none. Joey watched as the car sped on down the road. It unnerved her a little. Whoever was driving seemed to be intent on getting away from someone or something – fast! Joey came away from the window and climbed back into bed, patting the mattress for Charlie to join her. Charlie could not resist the invitation, regardless of her concern for her skin problem. Neither had noticed the blood stains on the windows of the car as it sped past, nor the bloodied handprint on the outside of their motel window, just under their noses.

To be continued ...

Yup ... you guessed it! It's gonna be one of THOSE stories.

Anyhoooo ... do you think this is something you might like to read more of? Please let me know. :-)


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone – I'd like to say a great big thanks for your overwhelming response to this new story. It really has made my day! I'm a huge fan of post-apocalyptic movies, and I dream about this kind of thing quite a lot. I was going to call it '28 Gays Later,' but the name has already been used for a movie which is very popular in certain parts of San Francisco, according to internet sources. I'd soooo love to see it. Anyway ... thanks for reading. It's time for Chapter 2.

FirstCenturyBC xxxx

**VERY STRANGE THINGS:**

**Chapter 2**

11:20 a.m. The thought of leaving the motel room had not entered either of their minds for quite some time. As Joey continued to pleasure Charlie in every way she could possibly think of, Charlie herself forgot more and more about the blotches on her skin. All she could think about was Joey, and their amazing lovemaking. It had never felt this good before. She could feel herself approaching orgasm, and she began to moan, becoming louder and louder.

Her noisemaking did not go unnoticed, but not only by Joey. Alerted to her presence, the occupant of the next room began to bang on the wall ferociously. The commotion distracted Charlie from her thoughts and she suddenly went silent, embarrassed that someone else had heard her. She tried her best to concentrate on Joey and block out the sounds coming from next door.

Even though she had stopped making her noises, their neighbour had not – in fact, he seemed to be getting louder and more irate. At the back of Charlie's mind, something she was hearing didn't seem quite right. The man didn't seem to be complaining or saying anything in particular.

Instead it sounded as though he was growling and hissing – at least that's what it sounded like to her. She couldn't hear him clearly through the wall, but what she could hear was quite unsettling.

After a few more growls and hisses the racket stopped completely. Charlie was relieved, as was Joey. The sounds had annoyed Joey very much, but not enough to make her want to stop what she was doing with her tongue - or her fingers. Now she could concentrate again on making her new girlfriend very happy indeed.

--------x--------

It was almost noon. Having lost track of time, they rushed to get dressed as soon as they had realised their lateness. They didn't want to have to pay for an extra day. Joey had switched on the TV to check the time from the display at the bottom of the screen on one of the news channels. She had failed to realise the scenes of carnage in Melbourne flash on screen, assuming that they were clips from a new upcoming movie – 'coming to a cinema near you'. She also hadn't noticed the terrifying headlines scrolling along the bottom. It had said -

ROHELLA VIRUS NOW SPREAD WORLDWIDE ...

W.H.O. RAISES PANDEMIC ALERT TO HIGHEST LEVEL 6 ...

ALL NATIONS ORDER MILITARY CURFEW

STAY AT HOME - LOCK YOUR DOORS ...

INFECTED PERSONS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AND DANGEROUS ...

DO NOT PERMIT CONTACT WITH ANYONE ...

The TV had been switched off almost as quickly as it had been switched on. They made sure they had all their belongings and stood near the door, glancing around one last time at the place where they had finally consummated their relationship. It felt very special to them both.

Joey still felt she needed to make sure that Charlie was feeling okay about their night together. Even though Charlie's body language for the past thirteen hours had told Joey that she was more than fine with it, she thought it was right to ask.

Taking Charlie's hands in her own, she pulled her closer one last time, and wrapped her arms around her, gazing into her bright blue eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but was unable to think of the right words to say. Charlie sensed her nervousness.

"I'm okay, Joey. I know that's what you want to ask me. And just so's you know ... I don't regret a thing."

Joey smiled and kissed her one last time before their world would change forever.

Charlie unlocked the door and opened it, allowing the bright rays of sunshine in. Her car was right in front of their room where they had left it the night before.

"We'd better go square up the bill with the manager," said Joey.

Neither noticed the splashes of blood strewn across the bottom of their door, nor the handprint they'd missed earlier on the window. They walked towards the front door of the reception, which was lying wide open. The motel seemed eerily quiet for this time of the morning. But then again it was nearing the end of the holiday season, and more people were choosing to stay home these days. Many workers had lost their jobs recently and could not afford to travel anywhere.

Joey stopped at the entrance, peering inside. The reception was empty, but the tv in the corner was blaring loudly. A kids show was airing on channel 7, which showed several grown ups dressed in over-sized fluffy suits, speaking in such annoyingly high voices that it was almost enough to put anyone off having kids – at least that's what Joey thought. _Who the hell would want to listen to that kind of thing every day? – for years!_

The sight before them seemed very odd. It was as if there had been no-one there for quite a while. Joey stepped inside to take a better look. The cash register was open and completely empty. She put her hand over her mouth.

"God Charlie ... he's been robbed. All the money ... it's gone."

Charlie the professional senior police constable jumped immediately into action. She rushed inside to see for herself. At the back of the room, behind the reception counter, was a door. It was slightly ajar. It seemed to be some sort of store room but there was very little light getting to it, and was almost in complete darkness. She couldn't be sure what was inside. Her immediate thought was that the manager might have been tied up and moved in there during the robbery. Charlie lifted the hatch on the reception counter and walked slowly forward towards the rear door. As she passed the television, she turned down the volume gradually, then switched it off. Instinctively, she reached for the gun on her utility belt, but quickly remembered that she was not in uniform, nor on duty. She glanced around for something to arm herself with – finding only an old heavy marble lamp with a very large, frilly lampshade. It would have to do.

"Careful, Charlie," whispered Joey. She was becoming more and more afraid, but knew that Charlie was trained in this kind of thing. However, it still reassured her only a little bit.

Charlie reached for the light switch and flicked it on. The moment she did, she held the lamp aloft ready to strike whoever might lunge at her. The store room was empty, apart from a mop and bucket. Her body relaxed immediately and she sighed in relief. Then she set the lamp back where she had found it.

"I need call this in, Joey," she said, taking her phone from her pocket and dialling the station.

Charlie listened as the phone rang for several minutes, but there was no answer.

"What the hell? I can't get ANYONE on the phone. Something's not right here."

On hearing Charlie's words, Joey's own concerns were confirmed even more so. She'd felt a strangeness ever since she'd awoken from her nightmare earlier. She began to fidget with her hair, tucking it behind her ear nervously.

Charlie looked at her and gasped, ending her call instantly. She walked back out to where Joey stood and looked into her eyes. "Joey ... now I don't want you to panic. Promise me you won't panic, okay?"

Joey looked at her with a deeply wrinkled brow. "Charlie ... what is it? Just tell me."

Charlie lifted Joey's hair away from ears. "Look in the mirror," she said, nodding in the direction of the wall behind Joey.

Joey's eyes widened and she swung around to take a closer look. Behind both of her ears were three red blotches, the same as Charlie's. She could see Charlie in the mirror watching her. Her face was full of concern – for both of them.

"Shit! What the hell ARE these, Charlie?" she said, making eye contact with her in the mirror. She touched one with her fingertip, barely able to feel it. It was as if that part of her skin was completely numb.

Charlie swept her own hair up again to look. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like them before. We need to go see Rachel at Northern Districts ... as soon as we can."

Joey nodded and watched as Charlie headed towards the exit and took her phone out to try and reach her colleagues again. As soon as Charlie had moved away from the mirror Joey froze. In the reflection, she could make out red stains on the wall behind her. She turned around slowly, dreading what else she might see. More stains were splattered across the wall and table beside it. Her mind became filled with horrible thoughts of what might have happened to the hotel manager. She knew instantly that he was probably dead.

"_Ch-Charlie_," she uttered, almost in a daze and not taking her eyes off the wall.

Charlie came back in with her phone to her ear, waiting for someone to answer her. She saw the look of terror on Joey's face and followed her stare to the other side of the room. Her mouth fell open at the sight of the bloodied wall and furniture.

Charlie knew from experience that the stains were still quite fresh – perhaps not more than a few hours old. She threw her arm around Joey and pulled her away. Joey buried her head against Charlie's neck, closing her eyes as the tears began to flow.

Charlie's mind raced. What had happened? Why hadn't they heard the assault? The reception was only a few doors down from their room. And where was the body?

"Did you get through to anyone?" sniffled Joey softly, her head still pressed against Charlie for comfort.

"No-one. I'm gonna have to go over there, Joey. Something's definitely not right."

Charlie didn't want to upset Joey any more, so she chose not to mention the pangs of panic rising inside of her. There had never been a time during all her days at Yabbie Creek Police Station when she could not get someone to answer the phone. There had always been at least one person on the desk at all times to take incoming calls.

"Do you want me to drive you home?"

Joey shook her head fiercely. "I'm scared, Charlie. I want to go with YOU. Please don't leave me," she pleaded, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Charlie reciprocated, patting Joey's back to help ease her mind a little. She felt Joey's body shaking and was convince that she was close to fainting.

"Okay ... we need to go to the car. Will you be able to walk?"

Joey nodded. Charlie spotted a key on the reception counter that had a keyring attached. She picked it up to study it. It had a picture on one side of a pretty seaside town, with the name and address of a souvenir shop at the bottom, and a diamond symbol. On the other side it said 'FRONT RECEPTION DOOR.' Charlie closed the door behind them as they left and locked it. She didn't want anyone else to witness the horrible sights they had just seen. The crime scene also needed to be preserved for any investigation that might ensue.

Charlie opened the car, allowing them to climb in, which they did as as fast as they could. She froze as she looked up ahead at their motel window. At last, she noticed the bloodied handprint and blood-soaked door. She started the car as fast as she could and threw it into reverse, hoping that Joey would not see it. It would only make her much worse.

--------x--------

Charlie was comforted a little by the fact that Yabbie Creek Police Station was not far away. As she drove she glanced across at Joey, who was shaking – staring ahead into space. If only she could think of something to say to put her worried mind at ease – but she couldn't come up with anything. There was no way she could reassure her because she didn't even know what was going on herself. Who did the blood stains on their door and window belong to? The manager? If not him, then who else? She could barely think straight.

At the end of the road they came to a junction and took a left onto Reefton Road. Several hundred yards later they were greeted by another scene of destruction. A car, one which looked very suspiciously like the one that had sped past them earlier, was embedded in a tree. The front of the vehicle was crumpled and bent around it. Steam was rising from the front end, and dark grey smoke billowed from the back. The driver's door was lying wide open, suggesting that at least one of the occupants had fled. The insides of the windows were covered in smears of crimson. Were there more people inside – needing help?

Charlie slowed and pulled over.

"Charlie. I don't think we should stop," fretted Joey, wringing her hands together nervously.

"It's my duty, Joey. This car could have something to do with the robbery back at the motel. The manager could have been taken ... and he might still be in there ... in pain. I HAVE to stop."

"NO ... NO YOU DON'T," she cried. "You're not ON duty." Turning her head slowly, she looked her in the eye. "I SAW IT ... I saw the blood on the door and the window back there ... and it's all over that car. Something is going on in this town, Charlie ... SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT ... I CAN FEEL IT ... so we should just get to the station where it's safe ... as soon as possible." Her eyes were pleading with Charlie to drive on.

Charlie thought about her words. Even though she felt that Joey was exaggerating the seriousness of all they had seen that morning, she had to admit to herself that heading straight to the station sounded like a very sensible idea, but she would be failing in her moral duties as an officer of the law if she didn't stop to check for casualties. If there were any, she could call for an ambulance and let them deal with it.

"I HAVE to check it out ... I'm sorry ... look ... stay here and lock the door from the inside. I'll be back in a minute .. okay?"

Joey wasn't okay. She was far from okay. Deep down she knew that Charlie was right, but she didn't want her to go anywhere on her own. A heavy, sickly feeling in her stomach made her sink deeper into her seat. Charlie opened her door and stepped out. She glanced around her, checking the sides of the road for injured people. There were none. As soon as she closed the door, she indicated to Joey to lock it. Joey obeyed and watched Charlie intently as she approached the car. Joey's heart was pounding; the sound was beginning to hurt her ears. She took several deep breaths and tried to tell herself that everything was going to be normal again soon. There was no way she could bring herself to believe it.

Charlie was just a few steps away from the vehicle. She had witnessed the aftermath of many horrific car crashes before, so she knew what to expect. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she was about to see. Inside, spread across the driver and passenger seats, was something that vaguely resembled a human being. She couldn't be sure. She saw blood-soaked clothes and hair, but could not distinguish skin or facial features. One thing she knew for sure was that whoever they were - they were no longer alive. She edged closer to get a better look, but immediately wished she hadn't. It soon became clear that the reason she could not see skin was because every inch of their body was completely covered with the same red and purple blotches that she and Joey had behind their ears, except these blotches were swollen many times larger, and oozed blood and pus.

Charlie's stepped backwards - away from the hideous scene. Her throat gagged and she felt the urge to throw up. She put her hand over her mouth to stop herself and looked back at Joey, who was staring wide-eyed at her. Joey could not have imagined what Charlie had just seen, but she knew by the look on her face that it was not good. Charlie ran back to the car and pulled desperately on the door handle. Joey scrambled to unlock it and let her in. As soon as Charlie sat down, she locked the door from inside again. Charlie stared ahead in disbelief.

"What was it, Charlie? What did you see?"

Charlie turned her head slowly to look at her, a tear running down her cheek. She briefly glanced at the red blotches behind Joey's ear, before making eye contact with her again. Joey noticed Charlie's concern for their sudden 'allergic reaction'.

"Joey ... we need to get to hospital ... now."

The words filled Joey with even more dread.

To be continued ...


	3. Chapter 3

It's time now for Chapter 3. Will they make it to the hospital?

**VERY STRANGE THINGS:**

**Chapter 3**

Their thirteen minute car journey had been dominated by worried silence. Charlie didn't want to talk about all that she had just seen back at the car accident, and Joey didn't have the courage to ask her any more about it. She knew it would only upset Charlie even more – but mostly she really didn't want to know. The vacant expression on Charlie's face as she drove had told Joey more than enough already.

Charlie tried to concentrate on the road ahead and not think about the body. What had caused their skin to change like that? The extent of the damage meant that she hadn't even been able to tell if they were young or old - male or female. The clothes did look like men's clothes. Could he have been the motel manager? Was he trying to get to the hospital? And would she and Joey end up the same way? That frightened her more than anything. It was obvious that whatever was affecting the two of them had killed him. She hoped the hospital and Rachel would have some answers before it was too late.

All roads along the way to Northern Districts Hospital had been clear and free from incidents; but that was about to change. Up ahead they saw an ambulance on the side of the road. It was mounted half-way onto the kerb and it's emergency lights were still flashing ominously. The back doors were wide open and they could see a figure inside – moving around. The sight of another human being made Charlie relax a little. Maybe he or she could tell her what was going on. She slowed as they approached the vehicle. Both recognised the uniform of the person inside – a paramedic. Charlie pulled the car in to the other side of the road and readied herself to get out. Joey didn't protest this time, hoping that maybe someone with medical knowledge might have some kind of drugs on board to help treat their skin complaint. It was worth a try.

Charlie opened her door cautiously and got out. The paramedic was crouched over a stretcher and Charlie could now tell that he was a man. Maybe he was trying to save someone in there - administering CPR. It certainly would explain his frantic jerking movements. She closed the door of the car. The noise alerted him to her presence and he swung around to look at her. Charlie froze.

His eyes were wild and staring - bulging in their sockets. His skin was almost completely covered by the same red and purple blotches. Only a few patches of his face remained unaffected. He hissed at her, baring his hideous yellowed teeth which were stained with blood. Charlie's stomach churned at the sudden realisation that he had not been helping someone in the back of the ambulance at all. It was now obvious that he had been feeding. She dared not think what he might have been feeding on. Instinct kicked in again and she reached for her gun, but grasped only air.

Joey looked on in horror as the man hissed and growled at the woman she loved.

"CHARLIE GET BACK IN THE CAR!" she screamed.

As soon as Charlie reached for the door handle he jumped from the back of the ambulance and darted forward, his arms outstretched towards her, his fingers extended – claw-like. She scrambled to get back inside and locked the door from inside as fast as she could. Within less than a second later he was outside the car, banging violently on her window with his blood-soaked fists. They screamed in terror, drowning out his growls. His assault continued as Charlie fumbled with the key, turning it in the ignition. With each strike, the glass cracked more and more. Charlie was convinced that a few more hits would bring the entire window shattering in around them. She thrust the gearstick into first and floored the accelerator – the back wheels spun, throwing up dust and stones. They sped forward, the sound of screeching wheels now drowning out their screams. Joey turned around to see where their attacker was. He was running after them – very fast.

"OH SHIT CHARLIE HE'S STILL COMING!" cried Joey, gripping Charlie's arm in fear.

Charlie quickly changed gear and accelerated faster. She glanced into her rear view mirror – seeing the figure of the man gradually fade into the distance. Her heart was beating faster than it had ever done and she could barely breathe. She swallowed hard, trying to calm her nerves.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH THAT GUY?" shrieked Joey in disbelief, her hands shaking.

Charlie didn't answer her. She couldn't. What was there to say? Should she tell Joey the truth about the dead man back at the scene of the car accident with the horrible infection – or whatever it was. Should she tell her it was just like theirs?

"CHARLIE?" Joey begged her for an answer.

"I DON'T KNOW, JOEY!" Charlie replied in a sudden outburst. She hadn't meant it to sound so angry. She looked at the road ahead, shaking her head side-to-side trying to make sense of it all. "Maybe the doctors can tell us," she said with a little more calm in her voice.

--------x--------

Minutes later they arrived at Northern Districts Hospital. Charlie was very familiar with the place, having spent a lot of time there on duty bringing injured victims or suspects in for treatment. It seemed unusually tranquil. Normally it was buzzing with activity 24 hours a day. Ambulances would always be dropping off the injured, or transporting patients to other hospitals. Today the forecourt was empty. The deadly silence unnerved her and she wished again that she had her gun – or any gun. At that point she would have settled for a tazer - or a very sharp stick.

Charlie stopped close to the entrance and switched off the engine. Her deepest fear told her that the hospital could be empty – abandoned. But she tried her best to be a little more optimistic. Hospital staff don't leave their posts. Somebody would be there. She looked at Joey, her eyes were drawn again to the reddened skin behind her ears.

"We need to get inside," said Charlie tenderly. "Are you okay?"

Joey didn't acknowledge the question for quite some time, staring blankly ahead of her. Eventually she turned to look at Charlie.

"I don't think I'm ever going to be okay again."

Charlie knew exactly what she meant. "Let's go. Stay close to me and we'll be okay." Charlie hoped to convince both Joey and herself, but she had no faith in her own words at all. Their lives had been turned upside down in a matter of minutes. What else could they expect to encounter?

Charlie opened her door and Joey did the same. They got out and looked around the car park. Charlie's sense of dread escalated when she saw the smashed car windows and bloody splatters across glass and bodywork. Joey noticed too, but said nothing. In fact, she was expecting to see worse. Slowly they walked towards the large revolving front doors. Something caught Joey's eye.

"Charlie ... I can see movement inside. Someone's coming out."

They immediately backtracked on their footsteps, watching and waiting for them to emerge, and now wishing that they had armed themselves with something – anything.

Suddenly the front doors began to spin. Two figures came rushing towards them. One had a large bag over their shoulder and was wearing a police uniform. The other was wearing a white coat, splattered with red stains. More importantly, neither looked sick - however one looked quite heavily pregnant. As they neared, both Charlie and Joey recognised them. The woman with the white coat and the bump was Dr. Rachel Armstrong and the woman running beside her with the bag was Georgina Watson, Charlie's colleague.

"CHARLIE ... WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE ... NOW," yelled Watson.

Charlie ran back to the car with Joey and unlocked it. She quickly opened the rear doors as the two women came closer. What were they running from? She didn't have to wait long to find out. When she looked back towards the entrance, she saw three more figures, and they seemed intent on catching up with them. They looked just like the paramedic, their skin reddened and grotesque. Charlie froze again. What the hell was wrong with them? Her eyes became transfixed on them in horror – she was barely aware that Watson and Rachel had passed her and were climbing into her car.

"CHARLIE ... GET IN ... WE NEED TO GO!" yelled Joey.

Charlie snapped out of her daze and clambered back inside. Joey locked the doors immediately. Charlie reached for the key. It wasn't in the ignition. She panicked, but suddenly remembered that she had taken it out and put it in her pocket. She plunged her hand inside and felt around to locate it. Glancing upwards, she could see the three infected ones, snarling and growling as they bounded towards them, wide-eyed and furious. Two of them were wearing nothing but green hospital gowns. The wind caught one of their gowns and blew it upwards. The horrific sight of a red and swollen penis told Charlie that one was a man - the huge biceps of the other told her she needed to get them out of there fast! He looked like he could pummel the car and kill all of them instantly.

She thrust the key in the ignition. All four were relieved to hear the revving of the engine. The car screeched as Charlie threw it into reverse and sped them backwards, turning the steering wheel 'til it locked fully. She tried to put it into first gear, but the gearbox became jammed. She struggled with it - the car grinding and complaining noisily.

Joey looked behind her, now able to clearly see the contorted and bloodied faces of the infected hospital patients – and they were gaining fast. "HURRY CHARLIE ... THEY'RE COMING!"

Watson and Rachel grasped the back of the seats in front of them, their knuckles were now as white as their horrified faces.

The car jolted forward as Charlie found the gear. The attackers did not cease to give chase, running after them at great speed. Joey glanced in her rear view mirror. She could see that they were barefoot. How the hell could they run so fast?

Rachel turned to look out of her window. One of them was just feet away, a snarling, hissing woman. She gasped the moment she realised who she was – having recognised her clothing. It was Julie Cooper, a nurse who had helped her save many lives during her years at Northern Districts. Rachel had last spoken to her during the middle of the night. Julie had told her she was nearing the end of her shift and was too hungry to wait until she got home to get something to eat. She'd headed off in the direction of the staff cafe. Rachel could barely believe she was now being pursued by her good friend. Her face was almost unrecognizable, but Rachel could see that her mouth and teeth were covered in blood. The nurse's fist against the window made Rachel jump – and it created a huge crack. She thrust her fist against it again, this time sending glass everywhere. Rachel raised her hand up to the window to protect herself. A pair of bloodied teeth bit down on three of her fingers – hard. She screamed in pain. Watson rushed to help, punching the woman hard on the side of the head. It did not stop her, it only made her bite harder. Rachel's screaming became louder. Charlie looked in her wing mirror and saw the woman's head through the broken window. She knew she needed to act fast, so she swerved, knocking her to the ground. The others faded into the distance too, unable to catch up with them any longer.

All four women were breathless and unable to say anything.

Charlie glanced at Rachel and Watson in her rear view mirror.

"Are you guys okay?" she said – panting heavily. She noticed Rachel's bloodied hand. "OH GOD, RACHEL ... YOUR FINGERS!"

Joey turned around and gasped in horror, then turned away again instantly. She hated the sight of blood. It nearly always made her feel faint.

Rachel cradled her hand, trying her best to block out the searing pain. Watson opened the bag they had brought with them. It was filled with different drugs, needles and bandages. She lifted a large sterile gauze pad and applied it to the wound.

"Hold this tight," she said to Rachel, momentarily feeling a little foolish for giving first aid instructions to a doctor!

Rachel pressed the pad against her cuts as Watson took out a bandage and wrapped it around her fingers tightly.

"It'll be okay," said Rachel. "She didn't get through to the bone," she added, grinding her teeth in response to the pain she was feeling. The running alone had hurt her very much, but it had also saved her life, and that of her unborn baby. She clutched at her tummy as the twinges worsened, trying her best not to make it noticeable to the others.

"Joey ... are you okay?" asked Charlie.

"Peachy," she muttered, almost in a daze. She could barely believe what she had just witnessed and she stared blankly at the road ahead.

"Can either of you tell me what the hell has happened around here?" pleaded Charlie.

Rachel and Watson looked at each other. Rachel took a deep breath. "I can tell you what I know ... but that isn't much. There hasn't been a lot of time to study it."

"Study what?" asked Joey, turning around to look at her.

"The virus."

Charlie and Joey looked at one another with the same look of horror on their faces. Their fears had now been confirmed.

"It's spreading faster than any virus has ever has done before ... in all of recorded history," continued Rachel. "And ... it's airborne. It can't be stopped now that it's everywhere. It's managed to reach almost 93% of the world's populations in just over a week."

"Why haven't we heard about it sooner?" asked Charlie incredulously . She sensed a cover-up had been issued.

"Government efforts to avoid mass panic, I guess," said Watson.

"Oh god," murmured Charlie softly at her sudden realisation. She looked at Joey and uttered one word. "Ruby."

Joey nodded. She understood Charlie's sudden sense of alarm. Where was she? Had she survived?

Charlie thought too about her dad. She needed to try to get in contact with him, but Ruby was her first priority. She'd call him as soon as she had made sure Ruby was safe. Visions of screaming, infected neighbours coming crashing through her dad's front window pervaded her mind. The thought was terrifying. She thought too about Morag, her part-time nemesis - and decided that if any infected people were to break into her dad's home, they'd probably be more scared of Morag than she'd be of them. They'd be the ones running away screaming! A smile almost broke on Charlie's face at the thought of it – but it was wiped away before it ever appeared - by guilt. How could she even think of such a facetious idea in a time like this?

"Charlie ... where are we going?" asked Watson.

Charlie's face had a look of pure determination. "To find my sister!"

To be continued ...

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for following this story. It's been great fun to write it – although I don't spend quite so much time writing this one late at night as I did when I wrote the MoonShad stuff. Hmmm ... I wonder why! Anyhow ... thanks for all your very kind reviews and emails. Please keep 'em coming. I always love to read what you're thinking ... and I especially love to read how you think things will progress with the story in the future – FirstCenturyBC xxxx


	4. Chapter 4

**VERY STRANGE THINGS:**

**Chapter 4**

They soon passed a sign that said 'Welcome to Summer Bay.' It now seemed inappropriately cheery. Charlie tried not to think of the possibility that Ruby might not have survived the virus. Such a thought was too horrible to even consider. And what about Leah and VJ, and all the other people in the bay they knew and cared about? Were they okay? As they moved through the town, signs of struggle became apparent everywhere. A burned out car lay by the side of the road. The smell of burning rubber and paint filled the air. Charlie was also convinced that she could smell something much worse. A few years ago she had been met with the exact same smell at a house fire in which a whole family died. She knew at the time that she would never forget it, no matter how hard she might try.

Joey could barely take in all that she could see around her. Her world had suddenly become a surreal nightmare that she could not wake up from. And it was here to stay. She thought about her brother. Where was he? Was he okay? Even though they had not got along for many years, she still loved him. He was her only family and she hoped that he had managed to find somewhere safe. She quickly took out her phone and dialled his number. The phone could not even connect the call. A 'Network busy' message flashed on her display. She swore at it under hear breath and decided to try again later.

Leah's house was just around the corner, and all four silently hoped they would not meet any more trouble along the way. As they turned onto their road, they were surprised by the serenity that greeted them. It looked like any other day in Summer Bay. Perhaps the residents here had escaped the virus's deadly attack.

Charlie pulled up beside the path leading up to their home. She didn't know whether to try to call Ruby's phone first, or just go inside to find her. Images of her little sister hiding under her bed from some crazed infected person flashed through her mind, and she began to fret about having to make a decision. Calling her might alert them to her hiding place. She decided to go inside to look for her and turned to look at the front door, checking for movement inside.

Rachel noticed the marks behind Charlie's ear. "Oh god! ... you can't go in there, Charlie. You're a danger to your sister ... and anyone else in there."

Charlie turned around to look at her. "What? What do you mean?" She looked utterly confused.

Rachel extended out her hand and raised Charlie's hair, revealing her reddened skin. "Those marks. You're infected. Both of you are ... I'm guessing," she said, glancing across at Joey.

Joey confirmed her prediction by raising her hair to show her the blotches.

"You are both immune to the effects of the virus," she explained, "but you carry it ... which means that if you find Ruby in there ... and she isn't infected ... she soon WILL be ... and she might NOT be immune."

The news was devastating to both of them, especially Charlie. She needed to find Ruby, and protect her, but making contact with her could kill her. She sank back in her seat, deflated. What was she going to do now? Calling her was the only option left. She picked up her phone and dialled. Joey watched her as she tried to contact her younger sibling. Tears began to stream down Charlie's cheeks as the call continued to go unanswered. She hung up, hung her head low and burst into tears, convinced now that she had not survived.

Joey wrapped her arms around her and kissed her forehead, holding her close. "We'll find her, Charlie. She'll be okay. I need you to stay strong ... okay?"

Charlie did her best to hold back any more tears. Joey was right. The only thing left to do was go in to the house and look.

"I have to go inside. I need to know."

"You could kill her Charlie!" warned Rachel.

"She might already BE DEAD," Charlie snapped. "Or she could be injured and in need of my help. It's a risk I have to take, Rachel ... I'm sorry. Anyway .. how do you know we're immune?"

"Because we are too," she replied, raising her hair to show the red marks on her own skin.

Watson took off the baseball cap she was wearing to confirm Rachel's words. "It's the only reason why we're still here ... talking to you!" she said.

Charlie glared at them. "So both of you got into my car ... knowing YOU were immune ... and not knowing whether or not WE were?" she said angrily, referring to herself and Joey. "WHAT IF WE HADN'T BEEN? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US!"

Rachel and Watson looked at one another again.

"It was a risk we had to take, Charlie ... I'm sorry," said Watson. She really meant it. There was no way she would put one of her colleagues in danger unless it was a life and death situation – and it had been.

Charlie took a deep breath. "I'm going inside. I want you all to wait here."

"NO Charlie ... I'm coming with you," said Joey firmly, looking her in the eye.

"It's too dangerous, Joey."

"NO ... YOU going in alone is too dangerous. I'm coming with you!" she insisted again.

Charlie knew by the look in Joey's eyes that she would not change her mind, no matter what she said. She sighed and turned to face Rachel and Watson.

"We'll go inside. I want you both to wait here. Lock the doors as soon as we get out. My gun is in my room. Watson ... where's yours?"

"It was taken from me at the hospital when they brought me in."

Charlie stared at her, wide-eyed. "You got sick?"

Watson looked almost too embarrassed to reply. "No. I was on night shift last night. Early this morning ... at about three o'clock ... a ... a drunk driver ran over my foot. Constable Farnsworth sent me to hospital to have it checked out ... right about the time when all hell broke loose. Lucky me, eh?"

She gave Charlie a faint smile. Had it been another time, Charlie might have found it in herself to laugh at the story – but not today. She turned back to look at Joey. "Are you ready?"

Joey nodded. She wasn't ready at all. If she were to be completely honest with Charlie, she would have told her how petrified she was of what they might find in there – and how they might deal with it.

They stepped out of the car and looked up towards the house. The doors and windows were all closed. Joey wondered if Ruby, Leah and VJ had managed to lock themselves in, away from the harmful infection.

Slowly they walked up the path towards the house. Peering in through the window, nothing seemed different. Joey wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. She spotted two long, rusty metal bars on the ground. They had been part of a toddler swing set belonging to VJ, but once he'd gotten too big, Leah had disassembled it. Joey picked them up and handed one to Charlie. She hoped it would make her feel safer, but it didn't. It just made her wish all the more that she wouldn't have to use it.

Charlie tried the door. It was locked. Inside her pocket she found her key and silently slipped it into the lock. Should she call out to her sister? She wasn't sure what to do? What if someone else was in there? Someone with the virus! What if Ruby was infected and tried to hurt them? What would she do? Would she defend herself against her own sister? Harm her to save her own skin?

She opened the door as slowly and as quietly as she could manage. Inside appeared normal. There didn't appear to be any sounds coming from any of the rooms. Charlie entered first, holding the metal bar out in front of her. Joey followed, checking behind them as they moved forward. They edged their way into the living room. Charlie glanced around. There were no signs of a struggle – and no blood.

Joey looked at Charlie, and could see that she wanted to call out to her sister. As soon as Charlie's stare met hers, she nodded at her, urging her to speak. They stood together in the middle of the room, back-to-back – ready.

"RUBY?" called Charlie.

They waited. No reply came.

"RUBY ARE YOU IN HERE?" she called more loudly.

"LEAH? VJ?" shouted Joey.

There was only silence. Charlie turned to look at Joey. The deep sadness in Charlie's eyes made Joey want to hold her in her arms tightly, but they needed to stay on their guard. And they had work to do.

Charlie's face suddenly had a look of determination, but Joey could see that she was fighting back more tears. Charlie knew exactly what they needed to do. "Okay ... we go into my room ... get my gun ... then grab as much food and clothes as we can. We need to go somewhere more secure than this."

Joey nodded. As they moved towards Charlie's bedroom, Joey noticed a piece of paper lying on the floor. She reached down and picked it up.

"CHARLIE!" she exclaimed as soon as she realised what it was. She handed it to her.

Charlie looked at it. It was a scribble, but she knew the handwriting. It belonged to Leah. It read ...

'Charlie

House not safe

get to Sur'

Charlie's heart leapt. It was obvious that Leah had not been able to finish the message on time. Horrible visions of her sister and her friend being pursued in her own home by infected, snarling intruders made her skin crawl – and made her want to cry. She glanced at Joey, then looked at the note again. '_House not safe.'_ Could someone still be in there with them? She shoved the note in her pocket and placed both hands firmly around the metal bar again.

Joey followed as Charlie moved forward towards her bedroom. All she wanted to do now was get her gun, some food and clothes and get out of there. The note had given her a little hope, but she would not be able to rest until Ruby was by her side again.

Charlie peered around the corner into the room. It was empty and looked untouched since she had left the day before. She saw her gun attached to her utility belt, hanging over a chair in the far corner of the room. Moving swiftly across the floor, she picked it up and strapped it around herself.

As soon as she had her handgun between her fingers, she threw the metal bar onto her bed. It wasn't needed any more. Suddenly she felt much safer, as did Joey. Charlie picked up a large hold-all bag from beside her bed and lifted some clothes into it. She took some extra for Joey, and also picked up a couple of pairs of running shoes, figuring they were probably going to need them at some point in the near future!

Joey watched her as she packed frantically. "Should I go and get food?"

Charlie briefly glanced up at her and nodded, tossing a second hold-all bag at her. Joey took the bag in one hand, and both metal bars in her other and left her to finish her packing. She warily stepped through the living room and back towards the kitchen.

Joey opened the cupboards, filling the bag with tins of whatever she could find. She knew they would stay preserved longer than anything else in Leah's kitchen. She opened the cutlery drawer, remembering that she needed to bring a tin opener as well. Once she found it, she added it to her cache. As she was about to close the drawer again, she noticed several large knives and she took them also. They might be of use. Moving swiftly to the cupboards above, she packed the bag with as much nutritious food she could, as quietly as she could - unaware that a pair of reddened and bloodshot eyes were now staring at her from behind.

To be continued ...


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone. It's new chapter time again.

VERY STRANGE THINGS:

**Chapter 5**

The bloodshot eyes watching Joey from behind didn't blink - nor did their owner move a muscle. He just stood there, staring at her silently with dilated eyes. There were no growls and no hisses. Joey had no idea that a trespasser was mere feet away from her. Rummaging through the higher cupboards, she saw some tins of fruit salad. G_reat ... vitamin C ... and they'll keep for a long time!_ They were right at the back of the very top shelf and she stood on her tiptoes to reach them. Her concentration was suddenly interrupted by a very loud and rasping burp directly behind her! She screamed and spun around in alarm.

Charlie heard her outcry and rushed in to help, calling out her name in just as much panic. There, at the opposite side of the table from Joey, stood a middle-aged man – and he was very, very drunk. In one hand was a large bottle of whiskey, and in the other was a shotgun pointed directly at Joey.

Charlie immediately saw his weapon and she raised her handgun, aiming it at him.

"Are you one of THEM?" he slurred at Joey as he began to sway from side to side. His level of stupor had prevented him from even noticing Charlie standing beside him, her gun pointed at his head.

"No," replied Joey. Ironically, she'd only ever been asked that question before by homophobes. Now it had a very different meaning. She could smell his whiskey breath from across the table and knew that a wrong answer could be all that was needed to convince him to use his gun on her. "Who are you? What are you doing in here?" she asked nervously.

Charlie studied his face, then realised who he was. He lived next door, but she wasn't really sure of his name. He and his wife had moved in only a few weeks ago.

"Where is your wife?" asked Charlie. Her voice startled him and he jumped and swung around to look at her. His eyes bulged even more when he saw the muzzle of her handgun pointing directly between his eyes.

"WHERE IS SHE?" Charlie demanded.

Her words were like a bullet through his heart and he broke down. The double-barrels of his rifle lowered and he slumped into the chair in front of him – tears streaming down his face. Both women knew the answer to the question. Charlie lowered her gun and placed it back in it's holster on her utility belt. She knelt down beside the distressed man.

"What happened?" she asked tenderly.

"She took a rash this morning ... we both did ... only her's was worse ... much worse. I gave her calamine lotion and some painkillers ... but she started bleeding ... and we couldn't get it to stop." He wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. Charlie noticed how dirty it was.

"Half an hour later she was ... _she was_-"

Charlie placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." She looked at Joey, whose eye's were welling up with tears.

"I couldn't stay there ... I had to get out ... but as soon as I went out to my garden ... I was attacked ... by a boy! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? The little shit bit me!" he exclaimed, showing them the bite mark on his arm. Juvenile teeth had broken through the skin around his wrist, almost through to the bone.

Charlie and Joey's eyes met, the look of sudden concern on both their faces meant that they were thinking exactly the same thing. Could it have been VJ? They hoped they were wrong.

"So," he continued, "I ran in here and locked the door. The place was empty. I couldn't find any painkillers ... y'know ... for the bite ... all I could find was this." He held up the whiskey bottle.

"Where is the boy now?" asked Joey, trying her best to not sound like she was insensitive to his pain. If it had really been VJ, she wanted to find him.

"He ran off down the road. I hit him with the butt o' me gun, thinkin' it would scare him off. He just bit harder. His skin was all ... covered in sores ... just like Maureen's ... my wife. It was horrible. Ugh!"

"Have you seen anyone else today?" asked Charlie.

He shook his head. "No ... you two are the first ... eh ... normal people I've seen. Do either of you know what the hell's goin' on?" He looked up at Joey, hoping she had an answer.

Charlie saw the telltale signs behind his ears. "We don't know much," she said, "but we're going to find out. I want you to come with us."

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere safe. We have a car outside ... there are four of us ... and there's room for one more."

He managed a faint smile. On the worst day of his life, it was the only piece of good news.

"Charlie ... have you got everything you need?" asked Joey.

Charlie nodded.

"Okay ... so let's get out of here."

Charlie grabbed her bag from the bedroom and turned to join Joey and their new companion in the kitchen. As she walked back through the living room she paused, and turned around. Ruby's bedroom door was closed, as was Leah's. They hadn't checked them properly when they arrived, and she began to wonder if she should do it now. The note they found from Leah had led her to believe they had escaped, but she couldn't be sure. Maybe they were in there – injured. Or worse. Setting the bag down, she took out her gun again and edged slowly towards Ruby's room. As she gripped hold of the door knob, she put her ear to the door, but heard nothing. Her thumping heart made it was difficult to hear anything else! She took one final deep breath and swung the door open, quickly raising her gun and holding aiming it into the room. Her eyes darted around, searching for signs of life. There were none. Relief and grief flooded her in equal measures. Ruby wasn't there, but it gave her some hope that she was still alive – somewhere in Summer Bay.

She crept over to Leah's room with the same air of caution and threw the door open wide. Her room was also empty. _Where are they? God Ruby ... I hope you're safe!_

She ran over and picked up the bag and met the others in the kitchen.

"Let's go."

Charlie locked the door again behind them and the three of them headed straight to the car as fast as they could. Watson unlocked the car from inside to allow them in, then moved over to give Charlie's neighbour some room to get in beside her. As soon as he did she wafted her hand in front of her face to disperse the reek of alcohol. She hated to smell it on another person's breath. To her it was much worse than garlic or halitosis.

Once they were all inside, Joey locked the doors again.

"Guys this is ... ehh," began Charlie, before realising she hadn't figured out his name yet.

"It's Bill ... Bill Thornton. Nice to meet you ladies," he said, extending his hand to Watson.

Watson began to reciprocate, but pulled her hand back as soon as she saw the bloodied bite mark on his wrist. "What the hell happened you?" she cried.

"Hungry kid," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Bill lives next door," explained Charlie.

"Thanks for bringing me with you girls," he said, directing his gratitude especially to Charlie. "You're a good neighbour. Everybody needs good neighbours ... but they're few and far between."

"Where are we going to go now, Charlie?" asked Joey.

Charlie took the crumpled note from her pocked and read it. She showed it again to Joey.

Joey looked at the last line. _'Get to Sur' _"Do you think she was trying to write 'Surf Club'?" she asked.

Charlie nodded. "It can't be anything else ... at least I don't think so. It _MUST _be where they are. We have to go there ... NOW."

She started the car. Bill's air pollution was becoming too much for Watson, and she did her best to hold her breath for as long as she could before she began to feel the effects of oxygen starvation. On a normal day she would have opened all the windows - but not today. Who knows what might be running around out there.

---------x--------

The Surf Club was not far, and the journey there had been obstacled by yet more carnage. Charlie had to navigate around abandoned cars with smashed windows and dented doors, and each one they saw filled them with even more fear of what was yet to come. The security of being inside a car gave them very little comfort.

A bicycle had been lying in the middle of one part of the road – the poor-mans getaway vehicle. Poor and unfortunate. The ground below where the bike lay had been covered in blood. A single Adidas trainer was sitting on the ground beside it. Joey had stared at the lone shoe as they passed it, and she felt that whoever it belonged to should perhaps have chosen to run instead of cycle. They probably found that out the hard way, she thought.

Luckily they had seen no infected people along the way. Charlie considered it strange. Where were they? They had encountered 5 infected people that morning, 4 of whom had tried to attack them. Had the fifth been alive, he might have tried to do the same thing. She pulled the car right beside the front entrance to the Surf Club. It looked empty from outside and there didn't seem to be any lights on. Had Ruby, Leah and VJ tried to get in but couldn't? She stepped out of the car, before she had even thought about checking outside.

Watson, now sitting in the middle of the back row, was relieved to feel the breeze coming in at last. She looked at Bill, who didn't seem to be focused on anything in particular, then glanced down at the shotgun between his hands. He looked as though he was sleeping, or almost sleeping. She carefully gripped her fingers around the butt of his gun and slipped it away from him. Then she climbed into the front to join Charlie outside, for backup - but mostly for fresh air!

Charlie put her face against the door and held her hand above her eyes to block out the light above so she could get a better view inside. Her eyes strained to see as far into the club as she could. It seemed to be in total darkness and there didn't appear to be any movement inside. The sudden appearance of a figure at the window made her jump – and startled Watson so much she almost fire off two shells past Charlie's head. It was Leah.

"CHARLIE!" she shrieked – so glad to see her. She began to undo all of the locks on the Surf Club doors. There were several.

Charlie smiled at her briefly, before a look of worry returned to her face. "Leah ... PLEASE tell me Ruby's with you."

Leah froze, her happy expression disappeared in an instant – making Charlie's heart palpitate. Her eyes moistened again – and this time she didn't think she could hold back.

"Hold on ... I'll let you guys in and I'll explai-"

"NO WAIT!" shrieked Charlie, suddenly remembering the earlier warning from Rachel.

Leah frowned at her.

"Are you infected?" asked Charlie.

"WHAT?"

"Do you have the virus?"

"WHAT VIRUS?"

Charlie was amazed that Leah had not yet learned the cause of all the mayhem. She would have to handle this a different way – outside was much to dangerous to begin going into details. "Let me see your neck," she said.

Leah's frown deepened. She had no idea what Charlie was talking about, but she knew that she must have had good reason to ask. She lifted her hair to show her.

Charlie saw immediately, but wasn't surprised at all – she'd been expecting to see the marks. "Okay ... let us in."

--------x--------

Leah re-secured the locking system on the front doors as everyone behind her found a place to sit together. They had a lot to talk about. Joey looked around at the others. Besides herself, Charlie, Watson, Rachel, Leah and Bill – Alf, VJ, Hugo and Martha had taken refuge there a few hours ago. Upon their reunion, they had all hugged one another - relieved that their friends were still okay. They saw the bandage on Rachel hand and asked if she was okay. She reassured them that it was just a little bite. Rachel offered to bandage Bill's wrist. He gratefully accepted.

Charlie was the first to speak. She almost couldn't bear to ask the question.

"Where's Ruby?" she said in almost whispered tones - preparing herself for the worst possible news.

Leah took a deep breath, steadying her nerves to break the sad news to her friend. "We got separated. I'm so sorry, Charlie."

The words made Charlie's stomach turn in knots. She put her hand over her mouth as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "Where?"

"We were with Roman and Nicole. They had called over this morning ... I'd invited them in for breakfast. We'd just finished and we were saying goodbye to them in the garden ... with Ruby ... and that's when the attack happened." Leah's voice was beginning to crack.

Charlie cried harder at the mention of the word 'attack.' The more Leah explained, the worse Charlie felt. Joey put her arm around her, her heart breaking seeing the woman she loved cry. The horrible images rushing through Charlie's mind were too much and she broke down completely, burying her head in Joey's neck.

Joey put her arms around her and held her tight. She looked at Leah through her own tears, comforting Charlie as best she could. "What happened?" she said softly.

Leah sniffed back tears. Talking about it was proving very painful, but she felt she owed it to Charlie. "There were two of them ... they came running down the street towards us. At first we thought they needed help ... they were covered in blood ... screaming." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "But they grabbed Nicole. Oh my god ... their skin ... it looked ... HORRIBLE ... almost like it was burned or something!"

They all exchanged sorrowful glances across the table, all except for Leah and Charlie. Leah's gaze had remained fixed on the ground since she began her explanation, and Charlie had remained inconsolable, wrapped in Joey's arms.

"One of them pushed her to the ground and bit her shoulder," Leah continued, "and the other ... he came after Ruby. She ran as fast as she could but he chased her. Me and VJ ran into the house. I locked him in my room to keep him safe ... and I told him to hide under my bed. When I came back out ... Roman had managed to drag the guy away from Nicole ... then he punched him and knocked him out cold. Nicole was bleeding heavily. I told Roman I'd look after her ... and to go get Ruby. He ran off to find her. I haven't seen either of them since." Leah tried to hide the true depth of her concern for Roman. They had secretly begun dating just days earlier and it was the reason she had asked them over for breakfast. Had she lost him too?

Joey lowered her head in sadness. "What about Nicole?"

Leah could barely bring herself to answer. "She didn't make it," she whispered softly. "She died right there in the garden ... in my arms. I don't understand it. Within minutes of the attack ... her skin ... it changed ... and it wouldn't stop bleeding. Then she was gone." Tears flowed down Leah's cheeks. Martha put her arm around her to comfort her.

The room went silent. No-one knew what to say. Joey thought about Leah's words. She realised something.

"Did you move her?" she asked Leah, trying to get the story straight in her head.

"No ... there wasn't time. When Roman ran after Ruby ... I went back to get VJ so we could get out of there and go somewhere safe. I thought about you, Charlie," she said, turning to address her housemate. "And that's when I started writing the note ... to warn you. But the guy that Roman had knocked out came to ... and he tried to attack me and Veej again. He chased us all the way here. Lucky for us that Alf was here. He saved our lives."

Alf smiled weakly, unable to enjoy the praise any more than that. He sat silently in the corner, a behaviour uncharacteristic of such a usually cheery man. But then again, his morning had been terrifying.

Joey wasn't sure whether to tell Leah that Nicole's body was not in the garden when they arrived at the house. She decided to stay silent. Charlie was filled with too much sorrow to notice. Watson and Rachel hadn't picked up on the inconsistency either. Bill was still too drunk to care.

To be continued ...


	6. Chapter 6

Hi all – Thank you once again for following this story. And thank you also for continuing to let me know what you think of it. Your kind comments are really very encouraging and make me want to write all the more. Here is another chapter. Enjoy - FirstCenturyBC

VERY STRANGE THINGS:

Chiroptera (kai-rop-ter-a) prop. n. pl. - an ancient order of mammals dating to the early Eocene (55 million years), including bats.

**Chapter 6**

Everyone around the table sat quietly, unable to think of the right words to say to one other. Leah's description moments earlier of the attack at her home had put them all in a very sombre mood.

Joey was the first to break the silence. Charlie was still cradled in her arms, sobbing. "Rachel ... what else can you tell us about the virus? We need to know everything you know. Start at the beginning."

Leah had been totally oblivious to the disease that was killing all around her. "What is all this about a virus, you guys? Things like that only happen in movies, right?" She looked completely baffled.

Rachel cleared her throat to speak. "Okay ... I can tell you everything that I've been told ... and what I've seen at the hospital." She took a deep breath. "Rohella chiroptera is ... without doubt ... the worst virus in history."

"Excuse me ... what-optera?" asked Martha.

"Rohella chiroptera," repeated Rachel. "It took it's first victim little over a week ago ... an adventurer and naturalist. He was exploring a remote cave in Borneo .. in an area of rainforest that had never even been seen by human eyes before. It's believed he was bitten by a bat deep within the cave. I'm sure you guys already know how bats can play host to all sorts of diseases ... without ever being affected by them. They are the perfect reservoirs. It's been well documented for decades. They can carry rabies. Here in Australia ... bats carry the deadly ABL virus ... Australian Bat Lyssavirus ... and also the Hendra virus ... which killed humans and horses several years ago just outside Melbourne. Fruit bats in other countries are also known to carry ebola, the most highly infectious virus ever known to exist ... well ... until now, that is."

Rachel's last words hit them all like a hammer blow to the head. The realisation was immense - and terrifying.

Alf found reason to speak for the first time. "Hang on a second, Rachel ... I'm no expert ... but I've read a few books on virology in the past. I've never heard of a virus that can spread _THIS_ fast."

"I'm sure you've read how viruses mutate as they multiply inside their hosts, right?"

He nodded.

"The mutation rate of Rohella is unprecedented," explained Rachel. "Within less than a few hours it had mutated and gone airborne ... infecting anyone who came into contact with the cave explorer ... namely all five of his colleagues who were in the cave with him. They'd managed to radio for help ... and in doing so they passed the virus on to the rescue team sent to retrieve them from the rainforest. By the time they reached the nearest hospital, all of the rescuers were showing symptoms. By the end of the day ... the hospital was a morgue."

"How do you know all this?" said Hugo.

"Procedures were put in place by the World Health Organisation and the CDC."

"Who are the CDC?" asked Martha.

"The Centre for Disease Control. They instructed all countries to send details of the original incident to every hospital and medical centre ... to prepare us for an outbreak in the event of a future pandemic. It was just a precaution. That was eight days ago ... and already it's gone global. There hasn't been enough time to study the virus properly ... or find a cure ... or a vaccine."

Alf looked at her in disbelief. "So what are you saying, love? That it turns everyone into raving lunatics?"

She shook her head. "No. As far as we know the virus affects each person differently. So far ... most die when the lesions on the skin haemorrhage. The Rohella virus prevents the blood from congealing ... so the host bleeds to death."

Bill knew that fact all too well. The others who didn't already know about his wife could tell by his sudden sniffling that he must have lost someone that way.

"Some are immune ... like us," Rachel went on to explain. "We carry it ... but aren't adversely affected by it. However we can still infect anyone else who comes into contact with us."

Her words gave them all mixed emotions, especially Leah, Alf, Hugo and Martha. Before the arrival of the others, they had no idea they were even infected with anything. They didn't know about the virus.

"I don't know what to say," said Hugo, his head was spinning as he tried to take it all in. "How do you even know we're infected?"

"Because ... you've got these," said little VJ matter-of-factly, pointing to the reddened skin behind Hugo's ears. "Haven't you been listening?"

VJ had sat there quietly, taking in everything that had been said. He'd found it all very entertaining – oblivious to the real dangers. It was all just like one of his favourite computer games – Resident Evil.

Martha, Hugo, Leah and Alf touched the skin behind their ears. It felt numb. They were comforted by the fact that their immune systems had fought back against the virus, but the idea of carrying it in their bodies was a terrifying thought.

"There's more," said Rachel. "Once a person is infected ... the virus can kill within hours ... minutes even. But ... it is the most recent mutation of Rohella that has created all THIS ... this mayhem. And it's the thing that's responsible for creating THEM ... out there," she said, nodding her head towards the nearest window.

Charlie raised her head from against Joey's neck to look at Rachel. "The biters?"

"The ones who bite are just part of it. Like I said ... the virus affects everyone differently. We believe that it intensifies the predominant feeling in it's victims at the time of infection."

Joey glanced at Charlie, then looked across at Rachel. "So you're saying that the biters are-"

"People whose main emotion or feeling was hunger ... at the moment the virus entered their bodies," confirmed Rachel.

"You can't be serious, Rachel," said Hugo dismissively. "That's absurd!"

"I know it sounds hard to believe ... but I've seen it with my own eyes at Northern Districts ... and believe me ... you DO NOT wanna meet someone who got infected when they were in a very bad mood. I'd rather take my chances with the biters."

Rachel's new revelation stirred Charlie's emotions – and fuelled her resolve. She sat upright and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Joey handed her a tissue. Charlie stood up and walked over to the wall beside the front door. She stood with her back against it and peered along the street, making sure that she could not be easily seen from outside. It looked clear. Taking her gun in her hand, she slid out the magazine to check the number of bullets. It was a full clip. One piece of good news at least, she thought.

"You can't go out there, Charlie ... IT'S TOO DANGEROUS," cried Joey, realising Charlie's intentions. She stood up and moved towards her quickly.

Charlie re-inserted the magazine and pulled the slide to load it. "She's out there, Joey ... and she's all alone. I have to find her. She needs me." Her eyes remained firmly fixed on her gun as she spoke.

"I know, Charlie. But going out there ALONE isn't going to help ANYONE. You can't fight them all!"

Joey waited for a response, but Charlie said nothing. The issue was not up for debate, as far as she was concerned. She continued to prepare herself to leave, not making eye contact with Joey at all. She didn't want to have to deal with Joey trying to talk her out of it. With those big brown eyes, Charlie knew she could be talked into or out of anything!

Joey's frustration grew. She grabbed Charlie firmly by her arms to stop her and make her listen.

"You can't go out there ALONE!"

"I'm not going alone!" she replied calmly, briefly looking Joey in the eye before glancing across at her colleague. "Watson ... you look pretty comfortable with that shotgun. I'm going to the station ... and then I'm going to find Ruby. If were all going to get through this ... we'll need more weapons. I need you to come with me."

For the first time in her life, Watson wished she wasn't a police officer, but she knew Charlie was right. She was the best person to go with her – and both of them were the only ones with any kind of firearms training.

Joey was petrified of the idea of Charlie leaving her. What if something happened to her out there? She couldn't bear the thought of not being there to help her, but deep down she knew Charlie would not rest knowing that Ruby may still be in grave danger.

"Look ... just try calling her again first ... before you go out there ... please?"

Charlie looked into Joey's eyes properly - at last. She relaxed herself a little. Joey's words made her realise that she needed to calm down and think things through. As they exchanged glances, both felt comforted by the contact between them.

Charlie took her phone from her pocket and found Ruby's number. She pressed the call button and waited.

It rang several times before Charlie heard a faint voice on the other end of the line.

"_Charlie_?"

"Oh god Ruby ... are you okay? Where are you?"

_"Charlie can [...] hear me?"_

The connection was breaking up badly – it was mostly white noise.

"RUBY? WHERE ARE YOU?"

_"I'm [...] the diner."_

"SHE'S AT THE DINER," Charlie said excitedly to Joey, "RUBES ... STAY THERE ... I'M COMING TO GET YOU!"

_"Char- [... ... ...] careful [... ... ...] Roman [... ... ...]tried [... ... ...] me!" _

They lost connection.

Charlie could barely believe what she had just heard. "SHE'S ALIVE, JOEY," she cried, tears of joy streaming down her face. "I HAVE TO GO TO HER. ROMAN MUST BE THERE TOO ... SHE SAID HIS NAME!"

Leah hid her feelings of utter relief from everyone. She slumped back into her seat and buried her face in her hands.

"The diner isn't far," said Charlie intimately to Joey.

Joey tenderly wiped the tears away from Charlie's face.

"Watson and I can be there and back in a few minutes. We'll bring Ruby back here ... then we'll go to the station." A smile began to spread across her face. Ruby was okay. A few minutes ago she was convinced that her sister was probably dead.

Joey smiled back at her. Seeing the woman she loved smile again lifted the heaviness in her own heart. Before they could think about it, they moved closer for a soft, lingering kiss – their eyes closed.

Suddenly Joey pulled back a little, but their lips remained very close. "Uh-oh," she whispered, realising that everyone in the room was probably watching them. "Are they staring?"

Charlie stretched her neck to peek behind Joey's head, then quickly retracted again. "Uh-huh."

Joey turned her head around to look at them all. "Yes ... OKAY. We're together ... get over it," she admitted to a room full of open-mouthed people. "It's not like it's the end of the world!"

She turned around again to face Charlie, who was grinning at her.

"Be careful," whispered Joey. "I want you back in no more than one piece ... okay?"

"Okay," agreed Charlie. She gazed deep into Joey's eyes. "I love you."

Joey smiled warmly at the words she had hoped to hear for such a long time. "I love you too."

Watson moved to the door with Bill's shotgun in her grasp.

Leah stood up and rushed over to undo the locks. "Bring them both back safe ... please guys."

Charlie and Watson nodded.

"And take good care of Annie, will ya?" said Bill.

Charlie and Watson frowned at him. He pointed to the weapon in Watson's hands. "She was me grandad's."

Watson smiled at him in acknowledgement of his request. Charlie peered outside once more to check that the path was clear. She nodded at Leah to open the door for them. As she left, Charlie glanced back at Joey and smiled – a silent promise that she would come back to her soon.

Charlie and Watson got into the car. Leah quickly secured the door again. Joey watched as they drove off towards the Diner. She fought back tears, and tried to stop herself worrying about the prospect of never seeing the woman she loved again.

--------x--------

Watson sat silently staring out of the window ahead, thinking, as Charlie drove them towards the diner – and towards her sister. She didn't like the idea of rushing over there without a plan of action. It was not how they did things at Yabbie Creek Police Station.

"Do you even know what you're doing? Or what you'll do if we meet one of THEM?" she finally asked Charlie, glancing across at her.

Charlie kept her eyes on the road. "No idea."

Watson raised an eyebrow and looked up ahead again. "Didn't think so."

--------x--------

Back at the Surf Club, Joey slumped into the nearest chair. She took out her phone and tried to call her brother again. The network was still busy. She would not be able to contact anyone - not even Charlie. Knots began to tie in her stomach – and she sensed a headache was not far away.

Rachel stood up and headed towards the ladies bathroom. She finally could freshen up, having been at work since six o'clock the previous evening. Her shift had been due to end at midnight, but the unusually high numbers of casualties arriving at Northern Districts meant she'd had to stay on longer. By 4 o'clock in the morning, she was in the A&E department, fighting for her life alongside Georgina Watson, the woman she'd been treating when the first attack happened. Watson had saved her life, punching a male biter out cold. She had one hell of a right hook. Rachel had not herself believed the reports coming to her about the cause of the impulse to bite. Not until her encounter with Julie Cooper in the car did it become all too true. She wriggled her injured fingers. At least she still had feeling in them, but they did hurt – and they felt swollen. After she freshened up she would wash the wound and apply a new bandage.

She looked in the mirror, frowning at the blackness beneath her eyes, and the redness behind her ears. She twisted the hot tap, and dabbed warm water on her face with her uninjured hand. It felt good against her skin. She dried herself with a paper towel, then unwound the bandage to wash her fingers under the cold water. The water in the sink turned red as she washed the blood away, trying not to think about the possibility that it was more than just her blood on there. Julie Cooper's face had been covered in it. Who else had she bitten?

As she finished rinsing, Joey came walking in. She looked at Rachel's fingers. They were riddled with deep cuts, and the sight made her feel faint again - but she managed to speak. "Are you okay, Rachel?"

Rachel managed a faint smile. "I just need to change the bandage ... and take some paracetamol for the pain."

"Do you need help?"

"No ... it's okay, Joey ... honest. Besides ... I can see by the colour of your face that blood isn't something you can look at very easily."

Joey smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Never did like playing doctors when I was young."

Rachel thanked her for her kind offer and left her alone. Joey looked at herself in the mirror. Thoughts of Charlie entered her mind, and she wished so much that she were back already, safe and sound. She opened the door of one of the cubicles and stepped inside to get a tissue. As she reached for the dispenser the door banged shut behind her.

The noise awoke the occupant of the next cubicle from her concussion. She had been lying on the floor, but didn't know how she got there. When she sat up, she realised that her eyes hurt and her skin felt stingy. She licked her lips. They were dry, and it felt as though something had dried and caked all around her mouth. _Ewww, _she thought. As soon as she stood up, the hunger returned to her with a vengeance - and she could hear food just a few feet away.

To be continued ...


	7. Chapter 7

Hi guys - it's time for a new chapter. A long one. Hope you enjoy it. And thanks again for letting me know how you think I'm doing with this story. Your comments mean a lot to me. Very Strange Things is a hell of a lot of fun to write. I hopefully have some interesting plans on where it's going to go from here! And one last thing, as 1818 mentioned in their very kind review, the stuff about the other viruses is all true. ABL ... Hendra ... ebola ... and the bat connection. Scary stuff. I have a healthy fear of bats as a result of studying this stuff. I read about Hendra breaking out in Australia several years ago. It's worrying to learn that it has struck again. On that cheery note – sleep tight everyone ... don't let the bed bugs/bats bite ;) - FCBC x

**VERY STRANGE THINGS: **

**Chapter 7**

Joey stood inside the cubicle staring down at the tissue dispenser. She decided to gather a handful of them and she stuffed them into her pocket. It had been a day of many tears, and her gut feeling told her that there would probably be a lot more before the end of the day. The morning that she had spent lying blissfully happy in bed with Charlie now seemed like a distant memory. So much had happened since then. Had she believed in a supernatural higher power, she was convinced that she would be asking them what she'd done so wrong to deserve a fate such as this. Within one single day of finally being together with the woman of her dreams, their whole world had fallen apart. But on the other hand, 93 percent of the world's population had received a much worse fate than her and Charlie, according to Rachel. It made her think about her own mortality. And it made her suddenly feel very sad for humankind. Surely the virus had brought humanity the brink of extinction - and the survivors were now having to fight to stay alive against the biters and whatever else was lurking out there.

Her thoughts brought more tears to her eyes and she took another tissue from the dispenser to wipe them. She opened the door and stepped out, immediately becoming aware that someone was standing outside the next the cubicle – inches away from her. She turned her head slowly to look at them. As their eyes met, Joey froze in fear. The woman staring back at her was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen. Her face was a mixture of red and purple lesions, and it was very swollen. Around her mouth was encrusted with dried blood. Joey knew immediately that she was a biter – and the pangs of dread coursing through her multiplied as she realised she was about to be attacked. The infected woman did not move an inch. It was as if Joey's stare had locked her in a trance-like state.

Joey remained motionless, her mind racing and her heart pounding. What was she to do? How would she get out of there? She tried to think if she'd seen any items nearby that she could use as a weapon – but couldn't remember seeing anything! She noticed a large bump on the woman's head. It looked like she'd been knocked unconscious earlier. Would she have the strength to hit her? Would that be enough to allow her to make her escape?

She slowly clenched her right fist, trying to move as little as possible. Staying still seemed to be staving off an attack – for now. She gathered as much courage as she could and swung her arm as hard as her strength would allow. The woman immediately took a step back and blocked the incoming punch. Joey swung harder with he other arm, but that was blocked too, and was replied with a hard punch to the ribs. She groaned in agony. It was just her luck to come face-to-face with an virulent kung fu expert, she thought!

Immediately the woman lunged at her, growling and baring her yellow and bloodied teeth, which were headed straight for Joey's neck. Joey fell backwards onto the hard tiled floor as the woman landed on top of her. She put her arms up to defend herself, pressing against the biter's chest as hard as she could. The woman snarled and snapped her teeth repeatedly. It was the scariest sound Joey had ever heard – from a human. She'd only ever heard dogs make that noise before.

"HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLP," she screamed in terror. Would anyone hear her?

The woman's mouth came closer and closer to Joey's neck as her ability to fight her off weakened. She was sure she was going to be bitten. Was this how she was going to go out? At the hands of a hungry, blood-soaked infected human being? As images of her own death flashed through her mind she thought about the woman she loved. She couldn't allow herself to die – not now. Who would take care of Charlie? Blood dripped from the mouth of the infected woman – all over Joey's white t-shirt. Joey tried to push the images out of her mind, knowing how the sight of blood made her feel. Fainting at that moment was not an option. Thoughts of Charlie gave her a new-found strength, and she pushed the woman upwards, then shoved her sideways, knocking her head hard against the sink. It dazed her, allowing Joey time to sit up. She grabbed the woman by the head and rammed it against the tiled wall. This time it worked, and she collapsed to the floor – unconscious once again. At the same moment, the bathroom door flung wide open and Hugo rushed in, followed by Martha.

Joey pushed her attacker off from on top of her and slumped back against the wall in exhaustion. Hugo rushed over and pushed the woman further back away from her. He looked in horror at her grotesque face. Martha's eyes were transfixed on her – her mouth wide open. It was the first time either of them had seen one of the infected. Up until now they had only heard the stories told by others. The floor was now stained with blood and saliva from the woman's dribbling mouth.

"What the hell took you so long?" Joey gasped, out of breath. She felt her own ribcage to check for injury. A shooting pain made her cry out and it was so bad that she knew some of her ribs had been broken when the woman punched her.

"Oh great!" she groaned. She looked up at Hugo. "Well? Help me up ... Superman!"

He didn't mind the sarcasm.

"Sorry Joey ... we came as fast as we could." He took her by the arm and helped her to he feet.

Joey looked down at the woman, who now had two fresh bumps on her head.

Martha stayed by the door, too terrified to come any further. She stared down at the bloodied mess of a human being lying on the floor below them. "Oh my god ... look at her," she said in horror. "Did the virus do that?"

Joey glanced at her and nodded.

"Where the hell did she come from?" said Hugo.

"Straight from karate class ... I'm guessing," said Joey. "She broke my ribs ... the bitch!" She touched them again. "Ow!"

Alf appeared at the door, seeing the disfigured and swollen face of the infected woman.

"Strewth! What the hell happened?"

"I was nearly a late lunch ... that's what happened," muttered Joey as she walked past him back towards the main room. "She needs to be locked somewhere secure. I don't wanna be around when she wakes up again." She stopped and turned back to look at Alf again. "Got anywhere? A store room or something? With a lock?"

Alf stood there staring down at the woman with his mouth wide open. He hadn't even heard Joey's questions – and just stood there in a daze.

"ALF!" she shouted.

He jumped with fright at the loudness of Joey's voice and turned to looked at her.

"We need to lock her up ... NOW," she said. "Where do you have?"

He tried to clear his mind and think of a place to put her. "Ehh ... I have a supplies room I can empty. We can put her in there."

"Okay ... lets go do it," she said, continuing her walk to the main room.

Alf just stood there, still unable to take it all in. Joey turned around to speak to him, realising he hadn't moved.

"ALF!" she yelled impatiently. It startled him again. "COME ON!" she pleaded.

He shook his head to awaken him from the nightmare that he was now convinced he was stuck in, then followed Joey quickly to the other room.

--------x--------

Charlie's car slowly turned onto the road on which the The Diner was located. They could see that someone was standing outside the front door, eagerly looking through the glass, trying to get inside. As they neared they could see the horrid redness of their skin - an infected man. Charlie cut the engine immediately, so as not to alert him to their presence. She shook her head in dismay. What was she to do now? How would she get inside to find Ruby?

She took out her phone and called her again, hoping that the signal would be stronger from such a short distance. Ruby answered -

_"Charlie?"_

"RUBY ... I'm outside. Where are you?"

_"I'm hiding under a table."_

"Where's Roman ... Is he with you?"

_"He's outside."_

"WHAT?"

_"He's at the door. Something's wrong with him. His skin is ... horrible! AND HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!"_

Charlie's jaw dropped as she leaned closer to the car window to get a better look. The infected man standing outside the diner was indeed Roman Harris – and he looked terrible! His former 'GI Joe' good looks had been destroyed by a lifeform 100 times smaller than bacteria – the tiniest of assassins. Her stomach knotted at the thought of her former lover now trying to hurt her little sister. She was overwhelmed with mixed emotions – sad that Roman had succumbed to the virus in the worst possible way, but determined to protect Ruby from him, at all costs. She took out her gun and checked that the safety was off.

Watson had heard every word Ruby had said. "Oh shit! What do we do?"

Rachel's explanation of the effects of the virus resounded in Charlie's head as she prepared to face up to her now-terrifying, ex-SAS, ex-boyfriend. It now made perfect sense. Leah had said that Roman ran off to 'get Ruby.' It was now obvious that he had been infected at the time he ran after her, and that feeling had become his curse.

"Ruby ... are you able to unlock the door?"

_"Yes ... I think so."_

"Okay ... I'll be there as soon as I can. Stay put ... okay?"

_"Okay, Charlie ... be careful. I love you."_

"I love you too ... and I'm getting you out of there. Is there anyone else with you?"

_"No. I'm alone."_

Charlie could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes. Her poor sister. What had she been through? She couldn't bear to think about it. Suddenly she remembered the most important of Rachel's words.

"Ruby ... are you infected?"

_"WHAT?"_

"Check behind your ears. Do you have any marks or sores on your skin?" Charlie waited for an answer, hoping the reply would be yes. If so, Ruby would already be immune.

_"I can't feel anything."_

Charlie hung her head low. If Ruby had escaped the infection until now, she didn't want to be the one to pass it on to her. She might not survive it. Suddenly Charlie remembered something. Where the marks appear, the skin feels numb. Maybe Ruby had them, but could not feel them.

"Rubes ... I need you to find a mirror and check properly ... okay?"

_"I'M NOT MOVING, CHARLIE. Roman will see me."_

Charlie swore at herself in frustration. _Shit_! She needed to think of a plan – fast.

"Okay Rubes? Listen to me ... I'll distract him. Can you see him now?"

_"Yes!"_

"Okay ... as soon as you see him move ... get to a mirror ... then hide again as soon as you can. I'll call you back."

"Okay."

They hung up.

"What are you going to do, Charlie?" asked Watson with a deeply wrinkled brow.

Charlie glanced at her. "I don't know ... ... .... whatever it takes to get her out of there."

Watson had worked with Charlie many times. She knew that 'whatever it takes' meant just that!

Charlie looked at her again. "If he gets too close ... lock the doors."

"WHY ... WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?" she asked again, her voice becoming high-pitched. She was beginning to panic at the idea of Roman bounding towards her in a fit of rage.

"I'm going to put him down," replied Charlie.

Watson looked shocked. "You mean ... _'put him down'_ in the veterinary sense of the word?"

"Only if I have to," she replied, stepping out of the car.

Watson's heart raced, as did Charlie's.

"ROMAN!" she shouted – waving her arms to get his attention.

Roman turned to face her. Charlie could now see the full extent of his affliction. It was horrifying. He'd been such a good looking guy and now he looked freakish. She fixed her stance and held her gun outstretched, awaiting for him to run towards her in attack.

Her plan did not work. Roman ignored her and turned back to look inside, his eyes searching again for Ruby.

_Of course_, realised Charlie. Roman was infected when he went looking for her, and Ruby was now the ONLY one he wanted. She quickly thought of something else.

"ROMAN!" she called again.

He turned to face her once more. As soon as he did, Charlie fired two shots, one into each of his upper legs. He fell to the ground instantly. Charlie hoped that anyone infected with Rohella would be susceptible to bullets in the same way that regular human beings were. She'd seen many movies where virus-ridden people suddenly had superhuman strength. She watched as he writhed in agony, growling and hissing.

Charlie took out her phone and called her sister, keeping one eye on Roman, whose arms were reaching up towards the window – he was still determined to find his victim.

_"Charlie ... what the hell are these things? I look like I've got chicken pox,"_ said Ruby as soon as she answered.

Charlie let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Open the door, sweetie ... I'm outside. But be careful."

Charlie ran towards the entrance. As she approached, she heard the door unlocking. Ruby was behind it. She swung the door open.

"CHARLIE," she squealed, grinning widely at her sister. Suddenly she noticed Roman just feet away from her and froze in fear.

As soon as he saw her, his arms began flailing around in desperation to reach her.

"Charlie ... I can't get past him!" she cried.

Charlie thought for a few seconds. "Rubes ... take a few steps back ... I'll distract him ... then take a run up ... and jump over him. I'll grab you."

Ruby did as she was told. Charlie quickly decided a distraction was not good enough, so she moved closer to him and kicked him hard in the chest, then punched him in the face. Her attack knocked him unconscious.

"NOW RUBY!" she yelled.

Ruby ran and leapt over him, landing firmly against the arms of her big sister. They moved away and held one another tight. Tears of joy streamed down both of their faces.

Charlie gazed into her eyes. "I thought I'd lost you," she said tenderly. "Are you okay?"

Ruby nodded and hugged her even more tightly, burying her face against Charlies neck. Charlie looked down again at her ex. "Sorry, Roman," she said, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

A look of delight spread across Watson's face as she watched the happy reunion. However, it quickly turned to utter terror again as she caught sight of the movement behind Charlie and Ruby at the bottom of the road.

She unlocked the car and scrambled out. "CHARLIE ... HURRY ... BEHIND YOU!" she yelled, waving her arms and pointing towards the end of the road.

Charlie and Ruby both turned around. Running towards them were more infected people than they could possibly count!

Charlie grabbed her sister by the hand and ran back in the direction of the car. Watson opened the doors for them, then pumped the shotgun, in case she needed to use it.

"I hope you're not broken, Annie," she muttered under her breath.

Charlie and Ruby clambered into the car, shutting the doors tight behind them. Charlie turned the key in the ignition. It started first time.

"RUBY ... SEATBELT!" commanded the elder of the Bucktons.

Ruby did as she was told. Charlie sped the car forward, directly towards the oncoming pursuers.

"CHARLIE ... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" yelled Watson.

"An experiment," she replied calmly.

"CHRIST ... THIS IS NO TIME FOR A SCIENCE PROJECT!" Watson cried, squirming nervously in her seat.

As they sped toward their sickly aggressors, they braced themselves for impact. Watson had visions of people bouncing off the bonnet of the car, breaking the front windscreen. Right at the last moment, the infected ran off to the side, away from them, then turned and chased their car again.

Charlie glanced at them in her wing mirror as they faded into the distance behind them. "Hmmm!" she said, raising her eyebrow.

Watson looked at her incredulously. "And what exactly did that prove?"

Charlie turned to face her. "That they're infected ... but not stupid. They had the sense to move out of the way."

Watson sat back in her seat, thinking about Charlie's words. She'd been right.

"Charlie ... what's happening?" asked Ruby, still trying to catch her breath. "What happened to Roman? Why did he attack me? And what was wrong with his skin?"

"We'll explain everything when we get back to the Surf Club."

--------x--------

"Quickly ...," urged Joey, "before she wakes up again."

Hugo and Alf struggled to drag the infected woman from the bathroom to the storage room. Joey, Martha, Leah and Alf had cleared it completely. Rachel had stayed in the main room talking to VJ, trying to make his day seem as normal as possible. She also was keeping an eye on Bill. He had fallen asleep.

The store room had a window, but they'd all agreed it would be much too high for the woman to reach from the ground. It led to an upstairs room. They could observe her when she woke up. Rachel suggested they might be able to learn something from her behaviour – to help understand the virus better.

Once they had her inside, Alf and Hugo ran out again as fast as they could. Joey smiled to herself at their hasty exit. Alf locked it, then put a plank of wood through both of the door handles.

"Bit of extra security," he said, winking at Joey. It made her giggle.

Her laughter was the first any of them had heard since they'd arrived there. It was refreshing – and also soothing. They all felt safer knowing that the infected woman was now safely locked up.

They all gathered in the main room and sat down together. With the danger inside dealt with, Joey immediately began to worry about Charlie again. Something else was on her mind.

"Alf ... did you see her when she came in? The woman?"

He shook his head. "No, love. I thought the place was empty. I wonder who she is."

Hugo suddenly remembered something and reached into his pocket. "Maybe this'll tell us." He brought out a purse. "It was lying on the floor beside her. Must have fallen out of her pocket when she fell." He handed it to Joey.

Joey opened it up and looked inside. "Zara Snyder ... according to her credit card."

Joey looked inside at her other credentials. She pulled out another card. It said 'New South Wales Tae Kwon Do - Instructor'

"HA .... I KNEW IT!" she exclaimed. The sudden outcry sent a shooting pain through her ribcage. "Owwww!"

Rachel looked at her – deeply concerned. "Joey ... are you okay?"

Joey gave her a faint smile. "She punched me in the ribs," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the store room.

"Let me take a look," said Rachel as she slid onto the chair beside her.

"It's okay, Rachel ... it only hurts ... eh ... when I breathe," she said, trying to dismiss the seriousness of her injury with humour. It was one of Joey's way of coping with hardships.

Rachel was now very concerned. "Well now I _DEFINITELY_ have to check you out. Lift up your t-shirt."

Joey reluctantly did as she was asked. As she rolled her t-shirt upwards she felt a little embarrassed. Everyone else was watching them.

Rachel caught sight of the huge bruise on Joey's chest. It was black, purple and red, and was about the same size as Zara Snyder's fist.

Rachel touched it gently with her fingers. Joey recoiled. It hurt.

"Sorry," said Rachel. She moved her fingers around to check for abnormalities.

A face appeared at the front door, startling Joey. She flinched, sending more pain through her body, but her soreness was instantly forgotten the moment she recognised who it was.

"CHARLIE!" she cried.

Charlie smiled at her, then gave her a questioning look when she noticed Rachel's hand underneath Joey's t-shirt! Joey jumped up off the chair to let her in. She shrieked with joy when she saw Ruby standing beside her - grinning. Leah rushed to help Joey undo all the locks. The door swung open and Charlie rushed inside, throwing her arms around Joey and squeezing her tight.

"Aaaaaaagh!" groaned Joey as Charlie's over-enthusiasm hurt her even more.

Charlie let go and looked at her - concerned. "What is it? You okay?"

Joey smiled at her through gritted teeth. "Long story. Sit down and I'll tell you all about it. We had a surprise guest while you were out."

"Where's Roman?" said Leah, eagerly waiting for him to walk through the door.

Charlie looked at her with sad eyes, and placed her hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Leah. He wasn't immune."

Her heart broke and she lowered her head as the tears in her eyes quickly formed. "Did you see him?" she whispered softly.

Charlie nodded. She had sensed that Leah and Roman must have become much closer lately. Nobody else realised, but couldn't bring herself to tell Leah all about his virus-driven pursuit of her little sister, or how she'd had to shoot him in both of his legs, then knock him out with her feet and fists.

Joey hugged Leah tight. Leah reciprocated, then pulled away and walked over to the other side of the room to mourn for her new boyfriend alone.

Charlie moved over to one of the soft seats. Ruby hugged Joey and VJ. Everyone told her how glad they were to see that she was still alive and that her skin was mostly free from lumps and bumps.

Ten immune survivors had become eleven. Joey went to fetch a cold drink for Charlie and herself. Charlie sat in the corner of the room, watching as Leah sat down in a corner and took a tissue from her pocket. Everyone else talked and hugged her sister. Ruby was so precious to her, and she felt she could relax a little better knowing that she was safe – and immune to Rohella. Now she worried about her dad again, and she took out her phone and called his number. The weak signal prevented her from even trying to get through to him. Something told her he was okay, possibly even immune. After all, she and Ruby had immunity – maybe he had too. She hoped that he was somewhere safe.

Joey sat down beside her with two iced soft drinks, complete with straws, umbrellas and pieces of fruit garnish around the rim.

Charlie giggled at her artistic bartending skills.

"You deserve it," smiled Joey. "Drink up." They took a sip and sat looking around at their friends.

Joey waited until she and Charlie had settled and enjoyed most of their drinks before she told her all about Zara Snyder and the bathroom incident.

"Oh god Joey ... are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"Not as much as I hurt her. She's in there now ... nursing the bumps on her head," she said, pointing to the store.

Charlie sat up straight and began to fidget. She eyed the store room door, uncomfortable at the thought of an infected person so close to them.

"Don't worry about her. She's locked up," Joey reassured her. "I told her to think long and hard about what she'd done ... and when she's truly sorry ... we'd talk about it ... a sort of 'kiss and make up' kind of thing!"

Charlie grinned at the big white lie. "You seem to be taking this all in your stride."

Joey shrugged her shoulders. "It's amazing how several brushes with death in one day can give you a whole new outlook on life. The way I see it? Living with the infected is just how things are gonna be from now on ... or until they find a cure. No point in moping about it. No point in crying about it. Just get on with it. They're here ... they're DEFINITELY queer ... and they want to bite your ear!"

She finished her little speech with a grin, then he raised her glass, as if to make a toast.

Charlie reciprocated with a smile on her face - reminded once again of exactly why she loved this girl so much.

To be continued ...


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Charlie moved to the next table to sit beside her younger sister so she could explain to her about the virus, how it had affected Roman and Nicole and everyone else she'd seen, and how far it had spread around the world. The devastating news made Ruby cry. They talked about their dad, and held each other tight, trying to reassure one another that he would be okay and that they could contact him soon. Neither felt reassured at all knowing what was out there.

--------x--------

The tiled floor beneath her should have felt cold, but it didn't. In fact, even lying face down, she could not feel it against her skin at all. She sat upright and looked around her, barely able to see through her stinging, swollen eyes. Red and inflamed fingers reached upwards to touch herself on the head. There was a large protrusion on her forehead. Strangely, it didn't hurt at all. The only recognisable feeling she could discern was hunger, and it seemed to be slowly growing stronger and stronger inside her. The impulse to feed made her salivate, moistening her dry mouth and parched lips.

She stood up, her eyes searching the room for food with her badly impaired vision. A slight movement in the far corner made her instinctively run towards it. She fell to her knees to get a closer look. A very large spider scurried along the bottom of the wall. Something in her memory told her she hated spiders, but the hunger was too powerful and she grabbed it, stuffing it inside her mouth and chewing slowly. The virus multiplying relentlessly inside her entire body made her believe that movement was a sign life – and living things must be eaten.

She stood up again and shuffled towards the other side of the room. A large mirror was attached to the wall. Her body jerked in fright when she saw her reflection, thinking it was someone else – someone horrible. Then came the sudden realisation that the image in mirror was her own. She looked at her skin, and at the blood encrusted all around her mouth. She saw the bumps that deformed her head. Finally, she saw the large hairy legs of the spider protruding from her once-beautiful mouth as she continued to chew. There was only one thing she could do.

All eleven survivors heard the scream and it made every one of them jump. They sprung up off their seats instantly, all apart from Rachel, who could not manage such a sudden movement - even though she wanted to. Watson pumped 'shotgun Annie', half-expecting the infected woman to come bursting through the doors any second. Charlie reached for her handgun too.

"Well ... she's awake," said Alf. "Hope she's not going to shriek like _THAT_ the whole bloody time ... scared the bleedin' crap out of me."

"Alf ... where's the room with the window?" asked Joey.

"Upstairs ... first left," he replied.

Joey walked towards the staircase.

"Going to see your other girlfriend again?" said Martha with a sly smirk.

Joey glared at her – and so did Charlie.

"I'll come with you," Charlie said.

They both quietly made their way upstairs. It was quite dark, but a small outside window allowed a little light to be cast in so that they could at least see where they were going.

As soon as they were away from the others, Joey spoke. "What the hell is _HER_ problem?"

"Who ... Martha?"

"Yeah! Where does she get off being so bloody condescending?"

"Ignore her, Jo ... the girl's got issues."

"Yeah ... MAJOR issues! But I'll tell you one thing ... I'm glad she didn't turn into one of the hungry. CHRIST ... with _those_ teeth ... none of us would stand a chance!"

Charlie grinned at her and fought off a giggling fit.

Joey opened the door and stepped cautiously inside. She knew that the woman was locked away safely in the lower room, but she still felt very nervous at the idea of looking at her again. Their earlier encounter had been truly terrifying.

Charlie spotted the window low down in a corner. She stepped carefully towards it, straining to peer through the dusty pane of glass. She gasped when she saw the horrendous sight of the infected woman, staring straight up at her, growling - her teeth bared.

The sight of movement sent the woman into a fit of anger. She was so hungry, and her frustration at not being able to reach Charlie made her mad. She ran towards the window, jumping and clawing up at the wall, occasionally managing to touch the glass with her fingertips, leaving bloodied, elongated fingerprints.

"Charlie stay still. It seems to keep her calm."

Charlie sat down slowly, trying to move as little as she possibly could. Joey gave a little cry of pain- her broken ribs giving her trouble as she joined Charlie on the concrete floor.

"Aww babe," sympathised Charlie, "did she hurt you?"

Joey nodded and smiled at the sweetness of Charlie's concern for her.

"Want me to shoot 'er?"

Joey's giggles only made the pain worsen. "Please, Charlie ... don't make me laugh. It's too sore."

They both stared down at Zara Snyder, who was pacing the room, her eyes darting around for more multi-legged treats.

"So what happened to Ruby?" asked Joey.

Charlie gave her a one word reply. "Roman."

Joey's eyes widened at the news. "Wha? What happened?"

"Ruby told us all about it on the way back from the Diner. He ran after her ... to help her. But ... he'd been infected ... with no immunity ... just like Nicole. The virus must have intensified his feeling of needing to find her. So when I got to the diner ... he was outside ... staring in through the window pane ... still trying to find her." She lowered her head in sadness, and she felt a little bit guilty for not being able to find her sooner. "Poor Rubes. She'd been in there ... alone ... for god knows how long ... hiding from him."

"Do you think he would have tried to hurt her?"

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he didn't even know himself. I don't think he would have been a biter. Leah had said they'd all eaten just before the attack ... so he wouldn't have been hungry. Not unless Leah's breakfasts are terrible."

They glanced back down at the infected woman as she picked up something small and ate it.

"Ewwww ... that's gross," said Joey. "Just think, Charlie .. that could have been us. We could be eating bugs for dinner by now."

Charlie's mind wandered for a few moments, and she tried to remember where she and Joey must have been when they became infected – and what they were doing.

"Oh god, Joey ... remember what Rachel said? About the virus intensifying emotions? When you and I got the virus ... we were ... y'know?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "We were in bed together. We could have ended up ... ehh ... doing each other to death ... unable to stop!"

Joey laughed out loud at the very idea, the noise sent Zara into another temporary rage. "Well ... it would have been the nicest way to go out!" she said with a smirk, ignoring the hisses and growls aimed at them.

They leaned in and kissed, moving closer to one another as it became more passionate. The growling below stopped, and was replaced by the unmistakable sound of a wolf whistle. They broke their lips apart and looked down through the window in surprise. The infected woman had seen them, and had reacted just as she would have done before the virus attacked her body.

Charlie and Joey looked at one another in amazement.

"Maybe there's still hope for a cure," said Joey. "It seems like they have many of their memories still intact. It's not like they're zombies or anything, right? They're not dead ... just sick!"

Charlie looked down again at the infected woman, and screwed up her face as she watched her eat another spider. "Yeah ... very sick."

Charlie remembered the group of infected dodging her car as she drove straight towards them. A cure was certainly possible, she thought.

They glanced back down at Zara Snyder, as she searched each corner of the room for even more invertebrate snacks.

"Y'know Charlie ... something doesn't add up."

Charlie looked her in the eye. "What do you mean?"

"Well ... I mean ... she had been in the bathroom ... unconscious. Someone had obviously knocked her out. She had bumps on her head before I ever laid a finger on her. And there was something else too."

"What?"

"She'd been feeding ... and not just on flies and spiders."

Charlie turned to look at the woman, seeing for herself the blood caked around her mouth. "Ewww ... so what do you think it means?"

"Well ... nobody saw her come in ... which means either she was uninfected when she arrived, and went unnoticed into the bathroom ... or ... she WAS infected ... but it hadn't changed her yet ... ORRRR ... she was infected and all bitey ... but just very shy ... which is ... unlikely ... considering how ... ehh ... outgoing she is now."

Charlie's eyes narrowed, still trying to figure out what it all meant. "What are you getting at, Jo?"

"She must have appeared normal when she came in ... but may have already had the virus ... or maybe she got it from Alf or Hugo or anyone else that was in here earlier. Regardless of the who and the when ... the important thing is ... she was feeding ... which leads to the most important question ... who was she feeding on? And where are they now? Or ... maybe more to the point ... what are they now?"

Charlie sprang to her feet and reached for her gun, suddenly feeling a lot less safe than she did. Joey stood up slowly, her painful ribs preventing from moving any faster than that. They quickly headed towards the stairs, thinking that they would be much safer among a crowd.

Hugo was the first to notice their reappearance. "Did you ladies enjoy your little bit of ... alone time?" he said – grinning inanely.

Ruby was close enough to hear, and his words made her frown.

"Hugo ... what are you talking about? Shut up."

"Oops ... sorry ... did I say too much?" he said, holding up his hands in innocence.

"Charlie ... what is he talking about?"

Charlie and Joey looked at one another. Ruby had been the only one who had not been there to witness their kiss earlier.

Charlie took a deep breath before speaking. "I'll explain in a little while, Rubes ... but right now we have a job to do. EVERYONE ... CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?" she said in a commanding voice.

They all stopped what they were doing and listened intently.

"I don't mean to be the bringer of bad news ... but we might have some more company. We need to check every room. The infected woman had been feeding. And we need to find out who or what she was feeding on. Ruby ... Alf ... I want you both to stay here with Rachel and VJ. The rest of you find anything you can use as a weapon and ... ehh ... where's Bill?" she asked, glancing around the room.

Martha pointed to the sleeping man lying curled up on one of the sofas. "He's sobering up over there ... talking in his sleep. He was calling a woman's name a minute ago. Want me to wake him?"

Charlie shook her head. "No ... let him sleep it off. He's been through a hell of a lot today ... and we need him to have a clear head when he wakes up. What name did he call? Was it Maureen?"

Martha nodded. Charlie looked over at him with sadness in her eyes. "That was the name of his wife."

"Was?" asked Martha, now beginning to understand what happened to him earlier.

"Yes," replied Charlie. She signalled for Ruby and VJ to come over to her. She knelt down so that she was eye level with VJ. "I want you guys to sit near Bill ... okay? And if you hear him talking in his sleep ... go to him and help calm him down. Can you do that for me?"

"Is he having nightmares?" VJ asked.

Charlie nodded. "Yes ... very bad ones."

"When I have nightmares ... mummy strokes my arm and I feel better," he said.

"Well ...," said Charlie, kissing his cheek and scrunching his hair playfully, "that's exactly what I want you to do if you hear him talking ... okay?"

VJ smiled. "Okay," he replied cheerily, happy that he had been given a very important job to do.

She and Ruby exchanged glances. Charlie knew Ruby would look after VJ _and_ Bill. She could be very mature when she needed to.

Hugo went behind the bar and found a baseball bat, hanging up on hooks. Alf had put it on display there after he'd brought it back from Boston years ago. He'd always had a love for baseball – especially the Boston Red Sox.

Martha and Leah found some iron bars stashed behind a sofa in one corner of the room. They had been part of an entertainment display unit and were heavy enough to cause a serious blow to any part of the body.

Watson had held Annie firmly in her grasp ever since she took her from a near-sleeping Bill. There was no way she wanted to be without it, even for a few minutes.

Joey walked quickly over to the bag she had packed back in Leah's kitchen, taking out two large knifes, one in each hand.

"Everyone ready?" asked Charlie.

They all uttered an unconvincing 'yes.' The last thing any of them wanted to do was go searching for any more infected ones – and that included Charlie.

"Alf ... how many rooms are in this place?" asked Joey.

Alf scratched his head – thinking. "Uhh ... ten ... I reckon ... maybe eleven."

Charlie looked at Hugo and Martha. "You two check the men's room ... and check all the cubicles. Then do the same in the ladies."

"We've already been in there," moaned Martha. "That's where Joey found ... her," she said, nodding in the direction of their prisoner.

"Did you check inside all the cubicles?" asked Charlie.

Martha realised they hadn't. She hadn't even dared to go any further than the door. "Umm ... no."

"Well ... now you can," said Charlie with a hint of condescension – giving Martha a taste of her own medicine.

Martha didn't like it one bit, and her eyes narrowed as soon as Charlie turned her back to her. Joey watched her as she cursed Charlie under her breath. Images of herself pushing Martha down through the window in the upstairs room into Zara's lair entered her mind. It didn't seem like the worst idea in the world, she thought with a smile on her face.

"Leah ... Watson ... you check the rest of the rooms downstairs," ordered Charlie. "I'll go with Joey ... we'll check all of the upstairs rooms. If ANY of you see or hear ANYTHING ... yell. The rest of us will come running."

"You don't have tell us to do THAT, Charlie ... we'll probably be yelling at our own shadows anyway," joked Watson. Her words made everyone smile. They desperately needed a little lightheartedness.

"Okay ... let's do it. Be careful ... and check your corners." Charlie was so used to commanding others, and nobody except Martha seemed to mind. They were quietly glad that someone was there who could take authority and help protect them from danger.

--------x--------

Martha and Hugo agreed between them to check the men's room first. Hugo pushed the door open very reluctantly. He'd much rather not do it at all. Holding the baseball bat aloft, he entered - ready to strike anyone or anything that moved. His heart beat so fast that he began to feel dizzy. Martha followed him with her metal bar gripped firmly in both hands. Her mouth had become very dry from her extreme nervousness, and she opened and closed it several times to try to re-salivate.

The men's room was quite small, and L-shaped. Hugo could see there were only two cubicles, but there was also a corner that he would have to check around. He didn't like that idea at all. Something could be waiting for them. He knelt down and peered underneath the doors, seeing nothing unusual, then pushed the first door open with the tip of the baseball bat. Both of them exhaled in relief at the sight of the unoccupied booth. They moved to the second cubicle with even more caution. Hugo pushed it open with his hand. Martha gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Smears of blood were visible on the white tiled wall. A bloody handprint left the telltale signs of a terrible struggle from earlier that day.

Hugo frowned. "Do you see that?"

Martha's face contorted in fright. "Yes ... it's horrible. Let's get out of here."

"No ... LOOK," he said - pointing at it. "The middle fingerprint ... it's missing."

Martha moved closer to get a better view. "Eww ... it must have been bitten off or something. We need to tell the others."

Hugo agreed and they quickly moved into the corridor and called on Charlie and Joey, who had not yet gone upstairs. They showed them the hand print which was missing a digit.

"Oooo ... that's nasty," said Joey, screwing her face up.

Charlie stared at it for several seconds. What did it mean? Could Zara Snyder have been the biter? Or was this her handprint? She looked at Joey. "Is ... _SHE_ ... missing a finger?" she asked.

Joey thought about it. "No ... I remember them all being 100 percent still attached to her hand."

"Hmmm," said Charlie, considering all the possibilities. If 'SHE' was the biter, it certainly would explain the blood around her mouth. The woman would eat anything that moved! It raised the question - where was the one who lost the finger now?

"On your guard, everyone ... and keep looking," she commanded.

--------x--------

Watson and Leah moved along the corridor towards the three furthest rooms. The corridor was dark. Watson found a light switch and flicked it on.

Leah jumped, not expecting the sudden brightness. "T_urn it off ... turn it off!_" she whispered and flapped her arms in a panic. "_It might attract them to us."_

Watson frowned. "Leah ... they're not moths, honey! Besides ... WE'RE looking for THEM. If we find them ... I'm gonna need to be able to SEE them."

Leah blushed, realising that Watson had a very good point. She decided to not make any more suggestions unless she knew they were sensible.

"I need you to push that door open for me," Watson said, nodding towards the room directly in front of them.

"No way!" protested Leah. "You're the one with the big gun. YOU go first!"

Watson had to agree with her on this one. She edged forward, and slowly turned the handle, then pushed it open with the shotgun. Inside looked like another store room. Various glasses and bottles were stacked on shelves. They looked very dusty as if they had not been used in a long time. Spiders webs in the corners indicated the presence of eight legged freaks, but it was definitely free from freaks of the infected, human kind.

They left quickly, closing the door tight behind them. The entrance to the next room was just a few feet away. Watson turned the door knob slowly and pushed the door open. Inside looked just like a living room from your average house. There was a sofa, a TV, and some oil paintings on the wall. They were portraits of semi-naked women – but tasteful and artistic. In the corner was a desk with a computer. It was obvious that no threat existed in the room.

"Well ... that's two down ... one to go," said Watson.

"This must be where Alf does his book-keeping and stuff," said Leah.

"I wonder if the computer is connected to the net," mused Watson. "Maybe we could look for information about the virus online. We could check on the WHO and CDC websites. Rachel should probably do this. Should we try it?"

"Yes ... definitely. But we should check the other room first."

Watson agreed. They moved along the corridor to the final room. Watson turned the door handle. It was locked. "Damn," she muttered.

Leah looked at her. "But that's good, right? Nothing could get in ... so nothing's gonna come running out!"

Watson knelt and peered into the keyhole. Suddenly she had a look of deep concern. "We need to ask Alf what's in there."

"Why?" asked Leah.

Watson stood up. "Because ... I can see a key. It's been locked from inside."

Leah's eyes widened as soon as she realised what that meant.

To be continued ...


	9. Chapter 9

The search inside the Surf Club continues ...

VERY STRANGE THINGS:

**Chapter 9**

Charlie and Joey made their way upstairs, armed with Charlie's gun and two of Leah's largest kitchen knives. Their hearts were beating fast, but by now they had become very accustomed to feeling so on edge. Today had been a day of many frights - and having a regular pulse had been a rare experience.

Charlie ascended in front, with Joey following a few steps behind her. "By the way ... watch what you're doin' with those things, Jo. I don't want a punctured backside."

"Don't worry ... it looks perfect from down here," replied Joey with a grin. "How many rooms are up here?"

"Ehh ... four ... I think. We've already been in one ... and I'm in no hurry to go back in _THERE_ again."

Joey sighed. "Me either."

As they approached the second room, Joey glanced through a small window. It was now very late in the afternoon, and the street outside had been almost completely deserted since morning. Charlie turned the handle cautiously, trying to make as little noise as possible. The handle creaked and squeaked as she moved it.

As the door opened, they looked around quickly for signs of movement. The small room was filled with surf boards and wet-suits, hanging neatly on rails. There were also some snorkels, goggles and body boards. In the far corner sat a full scuba diving kit. No infected.

They closed the door and moved onto the third room. It's door was slightly open. Charlie checked the handle for blood, but could see none. It was a good sign. She pushed it open. It was a kitchen – of sorts. There was a sink, a cooker, a dishwasher and some cupboards. It too was free from infected.

They moved towards the last room. The door was half-way open already. Inside they could see a chest of drawers. As they entered, they saw a bed in the far corner – but no life.

"Alf must stay here sometimes," said Joey. She closed the door behind them, shutting them inside.

They looked around. It was a nice room. Oil portraits of semi-clad women adorned every wall.

"Well ... he's certainly not gay, that's for sure," observed Charlie as she put her gun away. "I've never seen so many pictures of boobs in one room ... in my whole life."

"I always knew Alf and I had something in common," giggled Joey, setting the knives down and walking towards her girlfriend. "We both have an appreciation for the ... umm ... finest parts of a lady." She grinned cheekily and wrapped her arms around Charlie.

They shared a soft, lingering kiss. Memories of their previous night together came flooding back.

Joey broke their lips apart and glanced down at Alf's very comfortable-looking bed.

"Umm ... do you think he'd mind if we ... stayed up here a little while longer?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie giggled and shrugged her shoulders. She looked past Joey at the door, noticing that the key for the room was in the door.

"Go lock it," she said. They kissed again, briefly but excitedly – then gazed into each other's eyes. "Hurry back!"

Joey ran over to the door and turned the key in the lock. Charlie unbuckled her utility belt and set it on the floor as she waited for Joey to return to her. Moments later they were in each other's arms again. They kissed passionately, exploring one another feverishly with their hands. Joey eased them both onto the bed and they lay down. Charlie rolled on top, deepening their kiss. The tip of her tongue trailed along Joey's upper lip, and Joey responded by delving hers gently inside Charlie's mouth.

They made blissful noises as they writhed together in unison - releasing some of the stresses that had built up during their day. The reality of the apocalypse was slowly fading away, and they were slipping into their own little cocoon of existence – protected from all the pain and suffering and danger.

Below the bed, a sleeping figure opened her eyes – awakened by the squeaking springs above her head.

--------x-------

Martha and Hugo had one more room to check – the ladies. It had been the scene of Joey's struggle with the infected woman and they were not looking forward to seeing the bloodied floor again, or what else they might find.

They entered slowly, screwing their faces up at the nastiness of the the sight that greeted them. The ladies room had five cubicles – all together on one side of the room. Martha crouched and looked underneath and along the row. Immediately she noticed blood on the floor of the fourth stall, and she pointed it out to Hugo silently. They tip-toed towards it. Hugo pushed open the door very slowly. The wall and toilet inside was splattered with red stains, many of which were fingerprints.

"This must have been where she was when Joey came in here," said Hugo.

"Okay ... let's check the others ... then get the hell out of here," urged Martha as a shiver ran down her spine. She walked towards the next one. Hugo continued to look around inside the bloodied stall, then stepped inside, placing his foot on the only clean floor tile. He glanced down into the toilet bowl.

"CHRIST!" he exclaimed. "Martha ... come here."

She came back in and followed his gaze downward, turning pale instantly. The urge to throw up overcame her and she put her hand over her mouth to stop herself.

They both turned and walked quickly back into the main room. Martha tried to speak but couldn't yet.

Hugo looked at them all. "We've found the missing finger ... and something else."

--------x--------

The sound of heavy breathing and soft moans filled the air, but were occasionally interspersed with moans of a different kind. Joey's chest hurt a lot, and in the throes of their passionate lovemaking it was very easy for both of them to forget all about her injury – only to be reminded by shooting pains, making Joey cry out. Charlie apologised every time it happened - and Joey kept telling her to shut up and get on with it, in the nicest possible way. A t-shirt and a vest top lay on the floor beside Charlie's utility belt. A pair of green eyes had watched as each one fell from above, blinking slowly and wondering what they were.

Their owner slid out from under the bed, and she yawned from lack of oxygen. She was also very, very hungry. Above her, she could sense the presence of living things and she jumped up onto the bed in search of food.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" screamed Charlie and Joey together, bounding upright in bed.

The smokey grey cat now sitting beside them looked at them, licking her lips innocently. "Miaow."

They collapsed back onto the bed in relief, startling the young feline.

"BLOODY CAT!" cried Joey in frustration. The sudden movement and her sudden outburst hurt her ribs again and she complained loudly.

Charlie giggled and placed her hand tenderly on Joey's bruised body, then soothed it with a gentle kiss.

The cat had a pink collar with an ID tag. Charlie took it between her fingers to read the name inscribed on it. It said **'****Ripley.'**

"Hi Ripley," she said cheerily, patting her on the head. "Lucky for you I didn't have my gun in my hand. You would have been dog food, my friend."

"CHARLIE? JOEY? ARE YOU OKAY?" shouted Ruby from the bottom of the stairs. Everyone downstairs had thought they'd heard screaming, but couldn't be sure.

They both heard Ruby's call, and scrambled to put on their clothes. Their sudden motion sent the cat running across the room.

Charlie ran over to the door and unlocked it. She stuck her head outside. "YES, WE'RE OKAY. WE'LL BE DOWN IN A MINUTE. TELL THEM UPSTAIRS IS CLEAR."

Closing the door again, she turned to look at Joey and smiled at her. They felt a lot more relaxed now, even though their fun time together had been interrupted. Charlie returned to the bed and put on her belt. Joey wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her again.

"I guess you have a little bit of explaining to do when you go down," said Joey.

Charlie frowned at her, unsure what she meant.

"Ruby!" she explained.

Charlie smiled and nodded. "Yeah." She slipped deep into thought for a few moments. "Y'know ... last night I was so worried about how to tell her. But now it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore. She's got a lot more things to worry about now than her sister being gay."

Joey considered Charlie's words. She was absolutely right. Ever since the outbreak of the virus, priorities had changed dramatically, and in less than twenty-four hours. "I can tell her with you ... if you like."

Charlie leaned close and kissed her again. "Sure," she replied - smiling warmly at the girl she loved.

They stole one last passionate kiss before leaving the room to go downstairs. Joey made sure she picked up the knives she had brought up there. The cat followed them all the way back to the main room, hoping they would feed her.

Ruby watched them as they entered through the doors and walk towards her. There was something odd about Joey, and Ruby giggled quietly as soon as she realised what it was - then gasped when she realised what it meant. _I knew it_, she thought to herself. Teasing Joey was going to be so much fun.

Charlie and Joey sat down beside her at the table. They were at the far end of the room, away from the others. They both looked at her. Ruby was grinning widely.

"What?" asked Charlie with a furrowed brow.

Ruby's eyes darted towards her, then to Joey, then to Charlie again – then back to Joey.

She cleared her throat, preparing herself for the ribbing. "Uhh Joey ... why is your t-shirt on inside out?"

Joey looked down at herself. Her mouth fell open. Charlie laughed.

"I may only be fifteen ... but I'm not stupid," she said, unable to make herself stop smiling.

Charlie and Joey looked at one another – unable to think of what to say.

"So ... how long have you two been ... y'know?" She began to make a gesture with her hands, inserting an index finger into the hole of the closed palm of her other hand, but quickly realised how inappropriate it was and changed it immediately to two closed palms, bumping together!

Charlie and Joey giggled.

"SO? How long?" pressed Ruby.

Charlie sighed. "One day."

Ruby's mouth fell open. "Aww guys ... that sucks!" she said sympathetically. "You've only just got together and now all ... THIS ... happens. That is just CRUEL."

They both nodded in agreement with her. It was a fact – sad but true.

"So ... you don't mind?" asked Charlie.

"I always kinda guessed you might be a 'lover of the ladies,' Charlie ... no offence."

Charlie stared at her, unamused. "None taken," she lied. What did she mean by that? _And if Ruby knew – why the heck hadn't she realised it herself before now? _She was going to make sure she continued that conversation with her sister at some point in the near future.

"GUYS .... we need you over here," interrupted Leah, ushering them to come to their table.

The three of them stood up and moved to join the others.

"Tell them what you told us," Leah said to Hugo and Watson.

Hugo went first. "We found a severed finger in the ladies ... floating inside one of the toilet bowls. There was something else too. I'm not sure what it is. It looks like a large piece of flesh."

"Mmmm lovely," said Joey dryly. "Anyone hungry? I'm hungry! Boy that just .. whets my appetite," she said – rubbing her tummy and licking her lips.

Charlie tried not to laugh at Joey's sardonic sense of humour. She needed to be serious right now.

"There's more," added Watson. "The room at the end of the corridor. It's locked."

"So?" asked Charlie.

"So ... it's locked from _inside_!" explained Watson. "The key is in the door. I can see it through the keyhole. I think we need to find a way in there, Charlie. Someone is inside ... they may be alive ... or they might be dead ... but we need to find out."

"Awww ... a kitty," said VJ as soon as he saw Ripley, oblivious to the drama going on around him. He rushed over to pick her up and cuddle her.

Charlie, Joey, Watson, Leah, Hugo, Martha and Alf gathered together and walked off in the direction of the locked room. Bill was still fast asleep. Ruby and VJ kept their promise to Charlie and stayed near him.

Watson turned back to speak to the doctor. "Rachel ... there's a computer in the other room. You might be able to access the WHO or CDC websites. Maybe they have more information."

"Great! I'll go there now. Will someone come with me?"

"I'll go," offered Martha.

--------x--------

The group stood outside the locked room. Charlie knelt to look through the keyhole, seeing the key blocking her view inside.

"Alf do you have a spare key to this room?" she asked.

"Sorry, love ... there only is the one."

Charlie thought for a few moments, then looked underneath the door. There was a gap of about half an inch, and the floor beneath was polished wood. "I have an idea," she said. "If we slide something under the door ... some cloth or something ... then we can push the key out from this side. It should fall on the cloth ... and then we can slide it back underneath to this side."

"Charlie ... that's genius," cried Hugo. "I'll be right back."

He ran off to get a large towel from behind the bar, returning with it moments later. He handed it to Charlie.

She slid it evenly beneath the door, spreading it as far and wide as she could. "Now ... all we need is something to push the key with."

Alf reached into his pocked and produced a key similar to the one they were trying to dislodge. He gave it to Charlie. She inserted it slowly and pushed it, hoping that the other key had been left in the right position to be dislodged, otherwise it would not budge. It popped out easily and fell to the ground. The soft thud indicated that it had landed on the towel. Charlie grabbed the corners of it and pulled it slowly towards herself. The key soon appeared, just as she'd planned.

She picked it up and inserted it in the lock, pausing before turning it.

"Okay ... if my guess is right ... whoever locked the door was trying to get away from _HER_ in there," she said, referring to the infected store room resident. "Whatever we find in here ... it might not be a pretty sight! Watson ... bring that big gun over here."

Watson moved forward beside Charlie.

"Alf ... what kind of room is this?" asked Charlie.

"It's ehh ... just a meeting room ... for the surf club committee."

"Okay," said Charlie. "All of you stay out here. Watson and I will check it out."

No one was disappointed to hear her say that.

Charlie turned the key in the lock and opened the door slowly. She took out her gun, ready to use it if she needed. Watson and Charlie edged inside and looked around. They didn't see anything unusual. In the middle of the room was a conference table, and in the far corner was a coffee machine. Watson crept around the side of the room, towards the far side. Suddenly she stopped, staring down at the floor in alarm.

"Charlie!" she called.

Charlie came running over. A man lay face down on the ground in a very large pool of blood. Blotches were visible behind his ears. He was immune. Charlie knelt and touched his skin. It was cold. She tried to locate a pulse on his neck, but could not find one.

"He's dead."

Everyone heard her, and they began to feel very worried. Was it one of their family or friends?

Charlie looked at his hand. His finger was missing. Placing her hand against his shoulder, she prepared herself to roll him over so she could look at his face. She could see that he had a scruffy beard, but it was covered in dried blood. Something told her she knew him from somewhere, but she couldn't think where. She pushed against him, gasping when she recognised his face.

She immediately glanced across at Joey who was standing in the doorway. Joey's mouth fell open. Who had Charlie found?

Charlie stared down at him again. Underneath his body was a bloody mess, and it seemed to have mostly come from his waist area. The crotch of his jeans was soaked in blood, and the button and zip were undone. She gasped again when she saw that he had been bitten down there, and part of his body was missing!

Charlie stood up quickly. Watson looked at her. "Charlie ... is that who I think it is?" she said in a low voice.

"Yes," whispered Charlie. "I have to tell Joey. Find something to cover him over with ... quickly."

Charlie moved towards the door, taking Joey into the corridor and away from the others.

Joey stared at her wide-eyed. "Charlie ... who is it? Tell me." She was convinced now that Charlie's sudden concern for her could only mean that her brother was dead - and that his body now lay right there in the meeting room - but she didn't want to say his name.

Charlie swallowed hard and took a deep breath before she spoke. "It's Robbo."

Joey turned white.

To be continued ...


	10. Chapter 10

VERY STRANGE THINGS:

**Chapter 10**

"I don't understand," said Joey, shaking her head in disbelief. "How did he get here? I thought he was locked up!"

"He was," Charlie assured her. "We were holding him in one of the cells down at the station ... just until his transfer came through. It had been delayed. But I have a feeling the entire station was abandoned when the virus broke out ... and that's why nobody answered when I tried to call there earlier. Robbo must have managed to escape somehow."

"But why come back here?" Joey's head spun, trying to make sense of it all.

"I don't know," replied Charlie – but it wasn't exactly what she believed. She didn't want to tell Joey what she was really thinking. It was very possible that Robbo had returned to Summer Bay to find Joey again, even though the town had descended into chaos. Maybe he wanted to finish the job he'd started – and get rid of her so she could not give evidence against him in court. It made sense. In a town overrun with death and disease – no-one would suspect foul play if one of it's residents were to die at the hands of another human being. Everyone would blame the infected. It was the perfect alibi.

"What happened to him? How did he die?"

Charlie cleared her throat. "He had immunity to the virus ... but his finger had been bitten off ... so he would have lost a lot of blood."

"Zara!" said Joey in realisation.

Charlie nodded in agreement. "But that's not all. It seems as though she might have attacked him when he was in the mens room ... and ... ehh ...."

Charlie was having trouble thinking of the least nauseating way to describe the most likely cause of his death – and Joey could sense it.

"And what?"

"It looks as though she bit his ... ehh ... It's been severed." She hoped Joey would realise it without the need for her to say it.

Joey eyes searched Charlie's, and she gasped as soon as she realised what she meant. She could hardly believe what Charlie was telling her. A rush of mixed emotions coursed through her, and she silently chastised herself for feeling just a little bit gleeful that he had died in such a horrifying way. She disliked herself for thinking it, but she couldn't help it. The words 'justice' and 'karma' entered her mind.

"My guess is that he was probably using the toilet ... when she attacked him," explained Charlie. "Then he must have managed to knock her unconscious somehow ... which would explain the bumps on her head you saw. Then I guess he ran in here and locked the door. It looks like he bled to death."

It all made sense to Joey now. The finger in the toilet bowl was most likely Robbo's. And now they could identify the other fleshy appendage floating beside it.

Joey took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm her nerves. "So she spat him out again, eh? I guess some people are just too rotten to eat! Even the bugs must taste better."

Charlie knew Joey was masking her true feelings. She'd noticed how Joey always hid behind her sense of humour during the traumatic times in her life.

Charlie looked across at Alf. "You didn't see or hear ANY of this?" she asked incredulously, pointing towards Robbo's body.

"No, love ... although I did go outside round the back of the club for about five minutes with Hugo and Martha when they arrived. And that's when Leah and VJ came running down the road towards us and warned us all to get inside. _These two_ must have came in while we were out there," he said, referring to Robbo and his attacker.

Joey looked at Charlie and smirked. "If I'd known what I know NOW back when she was attacking me ... I'd have shaken her by the hand ... _then_ knocked the bitch out!"

Charlie smiled at the image Joey had put in her head of her thanking the infected woman mid-fight, but she quickly focused once again on the fact that Joey was using humour as a way of trying to find closure. Robbo had violated her in the worst possible way, and Charlie knew it must have been very traumatic. At least Joey wouldn't have to worry about him hurting her any more. Charlie wrapped her arms around her hand held her tight, kissing her forehead softly.

--------x--------

"I hope this works," said Rachel as she double-clicked on the 'Internet Explorer' icon.

Martha smiled at her. "We'll soon find out."

The connection was slow, but the status bar loading across the bottom meant that they had at least some ability to download information. Rachel keyed in the web address for the Centre for Disease Control. She hoped it had been updated. As she waited for the page to load up, she felt a pain. A kick. She winced, clutching her side.

"Are you okay?" asked Martha worriedly.

"Yeah ... the baby's just reminding me that it's hungry ... I guess."

"I think we could all do with something to eat. I'll go talk to Alf when we're done here ... we'll get some food organised."

Rachel tried her best to focus on the screen, but the worries she had kept quietly to herself all day plagued her mind. In the middle of the previous night, when she'd realised the full extent of the spread of the virus, she had tried desperately to call Tony but couldn't get through. He had left town a few days ago on business, and the last time she'd spoken to him, he'd told her that his mobile phone was not working properly. She had tried all day to not think about what might have happened to him, and she hoped he was somewhere safe. As for the baby, she fretted even more. Rohella was a completely new virus, and nobody had any idea how it might affect unborn children. Consequently, her search on the CDC website would be concentrated on finding out if any children had been born with the new and deadly mutation. The danger that her baby might become one of the hungry biters was a truly terrifying thought.

--------x--------

Watson had placed a sheet over Robbo's body and Alf locked the room again. Nine immune survivors and one cat sat around the tables in the main room. Bill had awoken, and had quietly remained in the corner ever since he stirred. Joey had watched him stare blankly down at the floor, deep in thought. She knew he was thinking about his wife Maureen. Charlie sat beside Joey, trying to build up the courage to tell her about her new plan. She knew her girlfriend would be totally against it.

"I need to go to the station, Joey. We need more supplies ... weapons. And I need to find out what happened there."

"Charlie ... please no," begged Joey, taking Charlie's hands in hers. "We don't need weapons. We're doing alright here, aren't we? The infected ones can be knocked out cold just like anyone else."

"It's not the infected I'm worried about. It's other people."

Joey gave her a puzzled look. "Other people? What do you mean?"

"Think about it ... sooner or later the food is going to run out around here ... and there won't be any more supplies coming into town ... not for a while anyway. Other survivors are going to come along eventually ... and we may end up having to fight to keep what we have ... just so we can live!"

Joey hadn't considered that far into the future – believing that they should all just try to get through one single day at a time. In her mind, she would worry about tomorrow when tomorrow arrived – and not before. Charlie thought about things differently. Her job always required her to think about long-term consequences. The impending hardships that she had already envisioned happening were not pleasant, and she didn't feel the time was right to start worrying the others – especially Joey and Ruby, the two people she cared most about in the whole world.

"It'll be getting dark soon, Charlie. Can't you wait and go tomorrow morning instead?" Joey urged, doing her best to keep Charlie near her.

"Joey ... we have no idea what might come knocking on that door tonight. I want us to be prepared. Watson and I can be back in less than an hour ... long before the sun goes down."

Watson had heard her name spoken, and her stomach ached at the thought of having to leave the safety of the Surf Club. She glanced over at the front door and what she noticed immediately made her feel worse. Their 'safe house' did not really have much security at all. There were no metal shutters on the doors or windows that they could pull down and protect them – and the front door had a large glass panel that could easily be broken. It made her all the more nervous.

--------x--------

Rachel had found an article on the CDC website that gave details of a child born a few days ago to a mother with immunity to Rohella. The baby was also immune. The discovery gave her hope that virologists somewhere were still working on a cure or a vaccine. However, as she read the final paragraph of the report, some of that hope faded -

_'The most recent mutation of Rohella, Rohella-426, is not known to affect unborn babies. However, initial DNA sequencing results of Rohella-426 suggests there may be a greater than 50% chance that the virus could be passed from mother to child in the womb. It is as yet unknown whether the child may also carry the necessary antibodies required for successful immunity.'_

She lowered her head in sadness at the news.

--------x--------

"Watson ... are you ready to move?" asked Charlie as she stood up and moved towards the door.

Watson nodded, but the expression on her face gave a different answer. She'd didn't want to go anywhere, especially to her work!

Joey followed them. "Charlie ... I want to come with you. I can handle myself."

Charlie stopped and turned around to face her. She smiled warmly and put her hands on Joey's waist.

"I know you can, Jo ... but it's probably better if Watson and I go alone. We know the station well ... and we can be back in no time. These people need food ... and they need to feel at ease. You are the best person I know who can give them _both_ of those things. And besides ... you've got broken bones. I don't want to see you getting any more injuries."

Joey knew Charlie was right, and she accepted her role as cook and comforter.

Watson moved to the door with shotgun Annie in her hand. Leah opened the locking system. Charlie and Joey gazed at one another, wishing that they could spend a few minutes alone to say goodbye properly. Charlie moved in closer, kissing Joey softly on the lips. She knew that Ruby and everyone else would be watching their every move, but she did not care what they thought.

Nobody did care. At any moment they could find themselves in the company of snarling, violent, infected human beings. The sight of two women deeply in love in a new relationship was somewhat comforting to them.

"Be careful, Charlie," Joey whispered.

"I will," she replied. "And I'll be expecting my dinner to be ready and waiting for me when I get back. Something spicy ... Indian, maybe?"

Joey giggled. "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

They kissed again, then Joey watched anxiously as Charlie left her for the second time in one day.

Ruby smiled at all she had just witnessed. Charlie and Joey seemed very much in love, and it made her very happy.

--------x--------

The fading sunlight helped Charlie and Watson to notice which areas in town that may be on fire. Orange glows illuminated the skyline in all directions. They both hoped that their own homes would not be affected by the blazes. The route out of Summer Bay had looked pretty much the same as it had done earlier in the day when they arrived. There were no new disasters, as far as they could tell.

Charlie stared ahead at the road with a gloomy expression on her face. She always did her deepest thinking when she had her hands on a steering wheel. It helped clear her mind, but it also brought forth memories and thoughts that she could normally push to the back of her mind at any other time of the day - when she wasn't driving. Even though she had just left Joey and Ruby safely back at the Surf Club, she had begun to worry about so many other things. The future seemed so bleak, and she didn't know how she would cope, or take care of the people who remained. She also wanted to get in contact with her dad and make sure he was safe.

"She's really lovely," mused Watson aloud, jolting Charlie out of her train of thought.

Charlie glanced at her, wondering if she was talking about Joey. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get into a personal conversation about her love life with a colleague. "You mean Joey?"

"Yes. I had no idea you two were ... y'know ... dating."

"We weren't," said Charlie abruptly, before softening her tone. "Well ... not until yesterday."

"I see," said Watson. "So then I'm guessing you guys have no idea yet just how perfect you look together."

Charlie finally managed a smile. It was a nice compliment.

--------x--------

Joey had kept herself busy making food for everyone as soon as Charlie had left. Leah had offered to help her, and their conversation so far had taken Joey's mind off her worries about Charlie's safety. It had also taken Leah's mind off her infected boyfriend. She was glad she hadn't seen him in his changed state. This way, she could still deny it in her mind – pretend it wasn't true. It was easier this way.

"We need to make extra for Charlie and Watson," Joey said.

Leah smiled at her and winked. "You two kept THAT quiet, by the way!"

Joey laughed. "Well not really. Our relationship only started officially last night."

"Aww ... how sweet. Y'know ... I had started to wonder about you guys a few weeks ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean ... I noticed a ... I dunno ... a kind of _tension_ between you."

"That would be an understatement," lamented Joey. "Charlie had some ... ehh ... issues ... I guess. She didn't want to admit to herself or to me that she had feelings for me."

"And you made her see sense," added Leah.

Joey smiled. "Yeah ... something like that."

--------x--------

Charlie and Watson's journey to the station had been incident-free. As they approached the main building, they noticed someone had altered the sign outside. It had once said 'WELCOME TO YABBIE CREEK POLICE STATION' – but the culprit had spray-painted over the name and added their own words instead. It now said -

WELCOME TO RO(HELL)A

Charlie's attention was drawn to the word in brackets, then she tutted in annoyance at the sight of the defaced signage. To her, the crime was disrespectful of those who worked to uphold the law of the land, and it should never have happened – global crisis or not.

She pulled the car up beside the front door. They both peered inside to see if they could see any movement in through the windows, but the place looked as though it was in darkness. It was an ominous sign, and Charlie was now convinced that the station was empty.

They got out of the car and looked around. Both had been expecting to see signs of struggle outside, as they had done earlier in the day – but there weren't any. It seemed odd but not impossible, Watson thought.

They held their weapons in front of them as they approached the entrance door. It was lying slightly open. Charlie pushed it and moved inside, followed by Watson, who had Annie held firmly in her grasp.

A short corridor led to the reception. Charlie had expected to see blood on the walls, but they were clean. Would further inside tell the same story?

She pushed open the door and looked inside, her eyes darted around looking for signs of life, or signs of struggle – anything that might tell her what had happened. The blood she had expected to see outside was splattered across every wall. Some of it looked as though it had been caused by shotgun blasts or by handguns. Charlie knew that she should have been horrified by what she saw, but she wasn't. She had witnessed so much terror in one day that she felt she was now incapable of being shocked by anything. In fact, when she suspected earlier that the station had succumbed to the virus, she had imagined it to look much worse than it did.

Sitting on the reception desk was the main phone which was connected to the switchboard. Charlie picked it up. The line was dead - which explained why it wasn't ringing incessantly, the way it usually did. That, and the fact that most of the population were either now dead or infected. Whatever their condition, telephone conversations were no longer possible.

"Communications are down," said Charlie.

"So what do we do?" asked Watson nervously. "Do we check all the rooms?"

"We haven't got time. We need to check the cells first ... to see if anyone else is still locked down there. And then we get our supplies and leave."

Watson was relieved to hear a plan that didn't involve a search and rescue operation. She was not in the mood to be the good samaritan.

Charlie found the keys to the lower rooms and they made their way along the corridor that led to the holding cells. She soon realised the keys were not necessary. The large metal reinforced door was lying open. It was never left like that before.

Watson entered and moved over to the desk that held the data sheet which could tell them who was being held in the cells and the reason for their incarceration . She picked up the list and read over the names -

_James Darwin – D&D_

_Charles Cameron – DUI_

_Christopher Waltz – awaiting transfer_

_Robert Cruze – awaiting transfer_

"Looks like we might still have three in there," informed Watson. "James Darwin .. drunk and disorderly ... Charles Cameron ... arrested last night for drink driving ... and Christopher Waltz .. who is awaiting transfer. Robbo's name is at the bottom of the list. Well ... we can cross THAT one off," she smirked.

Charlie detected a hint of enjoyment in Watson's voice as she'd made her last comment. Had she been talking about anyone else, she would have chastised her insensitivity. But where Robbo was concerned, she was in total agreement. She'd known from the very first moment she saw Robert 'Robbo' Cruze that he was bad news.

They walked down towards the holding cells. There were six at the station in total – three on either side of the room. Each cell consisted of three solid walls and a reinforced metal door with a small window at the top. There was also a hatch for passing items in and out – mainly plates of food.

Charlie moved tentatively towards the first window on the left hand side of the room and peered inside.

"That one should be empty, Charlie ... according to the sheet."

It was. She moved towards the next room. "Who's supposed to be in here?"

"Charles Cameron," Watson replied.

Charlie took a deep breath and drew in the courage to look through the window, preparing herself for what she might see.

Charles Cameron was indeed inside – but no longer alive. His body was bloated and reddened. The virus had caused him to bleed to death. Charlie looked away almost as quickly as she had looked inside. Watson knew by the expression on her face that he had not survived. They moved onto the third cell.

"That one's empty too, Charlie."

Charlie looked inside to make sure. It was indeed empty. They moved over to the left side of the room.

"James Darwin should be in there ... or what's left of him."

Charlie peered in through the side of the window. She gasped at what she saw. Inside, James Darwin was sat on his bunk with his head in his hands, crying. Charlie could see blotches of red and purple behind his ears. The cells had thick walls, so he would not have heard them talking quietly outside. She tapped on the window with the knuckle of her index finger.

James Darwin looked up and stared at her blankly. Charlie frowned. Why hadn't he reacted more? Was he sick? Maybe he was infected by the virus but in a different and new way. He stood up slowly and walked towards her, wiping the tears away from his eyes.

Their eyes made contact and they stared at one another for what seemed like a very long time.

"Is this still in my dream?" he asked wearily.

Charlie glanced at Watson. They both had a look of sympathy for him on their faces.

Charlie looked at him again. "James Darwin?"

He swallowed hard. "Yes? That's me."

"I'm going to open the door. Are you injured?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Are you hungry?" asked Watson. He had no idea of the true reason for her question. She just wanted to make sure he was _really_ okay.

"I'm starving!" he replied. "No one has come near me since last night. I've been yellin' me head off all day. What the hell is going on around here?"

Charlie found the right key and opened the cell door. James Darwin stepped out and stared at them both, awaiting a much-deserved explanation. He was a thin man with dark, wavy hair – about the age of twenty-eight or twenty-nine. Watson could still smell alcohol on his breath from the night before. Her sense of smell was almost as acute as that of a sniffer dog!

"Are you saying you have NO IDEA what's happened since last night?" asked Watson. "You haven't SEEN or HEARD ANYTHING?"

"NO ... all I know is I was brought in here for havin' a fight with me girlfriend at a bar. We'd been drinking and she started flirting with some bloody blond-haired hunk with a six pack. We got into an argument and she punched me ... nearly knocked me out. The barman called the cops. I got thrown in here. She got a pat on the back. Next thing I know I'm waking up this morning from a bad dream ... and I can hear screaming and gunshots all over the place."

His last words conjured up images in Charlie and Watson's minds of their colleagues struggling to stay alive. Charlie was sure some of them hadn't made it.

"So can either of you tell me what's happening?"

Charlie and Watson looked at one another again. Who would be the one to break the news? Watson sighed and turned back to face him and said, "I think you need to sit down for this."

To be continued ...

Author's note: Thanks again everyone for reading and reviewing this story. This rom-com-horror stuff is very physical, which makes it tough to write at times, so I am very pleased you are enjoying it. It makes sitting up alone 'til 3 a.m. (in the dark) to write it all the more worthwhile. FCBC xxxx


	11. Chapter 11

Hello all you Summer-Bay-romantic-comedy-post-apocalyptic-horror enthusiasts. Since you've all been so very kind with your reviews and emails etc etc etc ... here's another chapter! I very much hope you enjoy it ;) FCBC

VERY STRANGE THINGS:

**Chapter 11**

James Darwin had begun to cry again almost as soon as Watson had started to explain about the Rohella virus, and what it had done, not only to Summer Bay, but to all of Australia and the rest of the planet. His heart was racing, and his mind flitted as he thought about his girlfriend and his family. From everything that Watson had told him, it seemed very unlikely that any of them would still be alive.

"I need to find her. I need to find my girlfriend," he blubbed. "She's all alone here without me. She needs me. Will you guys let me go? Please?"

Charlie placed her hand on his knee to calm him. "Yes. You are free to go .. but James ... you need to think about this. Going out there alone tonight to find your girlfriend is not a good idea."

He wrung his hands in fear of what was outside, but tried his best to sound brave. "I'll find her ... and I'll find her alive. She can take care of herself. Zara always has done. She's kicked my arse many times."

Charlie's eyes widened and she looked at Watson, who was looking back at her with the same expression on her face. _Zara? _ Could he be talking about Zara Snyder? The spider-eating, penis-munching, snarling lunatic locked up back at the Surf Club? Both of them hoped that Summer Bay had two Zara's, and that James's girlfriend was the _other_ one.

"Is there a toilet around here? I'm bustin'," he said, crossing his legs.

Watson pointed in the direction of the nearest mens room. He limped off.

"Should we tell him about _HER_?" Watson whispered.

Charlie thought about it for a moment. "No. We're not even sure if it's the same person."

"AWW COME ON, CHARLIE ... who else could it be?"

"Look ... even if she is the same person ... he's in enough torment as it is," she retorted. "Would you rather I break his heart completely?"

"He needs to come with us."

"No way," said Charlie firmly, staring Watson in the eye.

"He needs our protection, Charlie. He won't last five minutes out there on his own. And by the sound of him ... if the infected don't manage to get their hands on him ... he'll probably cry himself to death somewhere!"

Charlie giggled, but stopped herself as soon as he reappeared. "We have two more cells to check," she reminded her colleague with a straight face again, putting them both back into professional mode.

They moved towards the middle cell.

"Is this the one that's holding Christopher Waltz?" asked Charlie.

Watson nodded. Charlie edged closer to look inside, convinced that she would see yet another dead body. James watched them nervously. Charlie pressed her nose against the glass quickly and glanced around the room looking for him. She could not see anything or anyone.

"It's empty!" she said.

As soon as she had uttered the words, the grotesque and swollen face of Christopher Waltz suddenly shot up from below the window, growling and gnashing his teeth. All three screamed in horror and took several steps backwards. James's scream was even more high-pitched than theirs. Charlie and Watson turned around to look at him, surprised that he'd yelled just like a girl - and a little girl at that.

The women held their guns outstretched in front of them, even though they knew the infected man was locked safely inside.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" shrieked James, his eyes almost bulging in their sockets.

"That ... is Rohella," said Watson, sounding almost as if she were introducing him to a friend.

He screamed again and ran off through the station in hysterics.

Watson watched him as he fled. "Jeez ... it's good to see that the few men left on the planet are all so brave and macho!" she said with a smirk.

Charlie gave her a brief look of amusement, then fixed her eyes back on the gruesome face staring at her.

Watson frowned at the horrendous sight of his diseased skin. "What do we do about _him_?"

"We leave him," Charlie replied. "It's out of our hands now. There's nothing we can do for him until a cure is found ... and let's face it ... that's not going to be any time soon."

She ushered Watson to proceed on to the sixth and final cell. Christopher Waltz's eyes followed them as they moved. He had gone silent, and they both found it very unsettling. They'd much rather he made some kind of noise, so that they would be reminded of his presence at all times.

The sixth cell had been the one that Robbo had been kept in. Robbo had gotten out, but had anything else gotten in? Charlie gingerly moved to the glass window and glanced inside, bracing herself for another fright. It was empty. Watson tried the door. It was unlocked. How had he managed to escape? Had he been able to overcome one of the guards as they were attending to him? The details would probably forever remain unknown.

"Okay ... we need to get to the store room," urged Charlie.

They left the holding cell room, locking it behind them. The weapons storage room was just down the corridor and to the right. Charlie searched the collection of keys on the chain looking for the right one. She put the key in the lock and turned it, then swung the door open. Guns, rifles and shotguns hung along the inner walls. Stacks of ammunition were placed neatly on shelves in one corner. They rushed inside to gather what they needed. Charlie found a large bag and began to fill it with bullets and shotgun rounds as well as rifle magazines. Watson found another bag and did the same. Charlie stood up and picked up a few of the automatic rifles from the wall, strapping them over her shoulder. Then she took an ammunition belt and did the same with it.

Watson caught sight of her and smiled. Charlie was aware of her stare.

"WHAT?" she asked, a little irritated by Watson's gawking.

"I'm having difficulty deciding who you look more like ... Sarah Connor ... or John McClane."

Charlie tried to stay straight-faced, but couldn't. "Yippy-kiy-yay mother ... ehh ... humper!"

Watson laughed out loud. She'd never heard her boss make a joke before. Ever. Let alone swear. Well ... it was _almost_ swearing. In her entire time at Yabbie Creek, Watson had never heard Charlie utter a single bad word – neither on nor off duty.

"You really think I look like Bruce Willis?" asked Charlie, raising her eyebrow. "Thanks a lot!"

"Well ... you don't have his rugged leading man looks ... or his permanently annoying smirk. No ... I was thinking more about the white vest thing that you've got goin' on over there. It's very ... apt."

Charlie looked down at her white top and smiled. With all the weaponry strapped around her, she had to admit she did look very 'Die Hard' indeed!

They continued hastily collecting their cache in silence.

--------x--------

Joey sat at the table with Ruby and VJ eating. She and Leah had used some of the food from the Surf Club kitchen, plus some that she had brought from Leah's house, and had managed to make a meal for everyone that was nutritious as well as very tasty. Two plates of dinner had been set aside for Charlie and Watson upon their return. In one cupboard, she'd found a tin of tuna. It had become Ripley's evening meal and the grey kitty now sat in the corner licking her paws, and other more intimate places that cat's can easily reach with their tongues.

Joey stared down at the floor, thinking about the virus. Suddenly, an idea entered her head, and she glanced across at the prison store room that was holding Zara Snyder. She finished the last few forkfuls of her meal, then went upstairs to the kitchen and took a small amount of food that was left in the bottom of a saucepan. What she was about to do was very dangerous indeed, but she felt it was worth the risk.

--------x--------

Charlie zipped up the bag and slung it over her shoulder. It was very heavy, but all she needed to do was get it to the car. Watson picked up everything she had gathered and got ready to leave.

"We need to lock this place up again," said Charlie. "We may need to come back here for more supplies ... eventually."

Watson checked that the corridor outside was still clear, then exited the room, followed closely by Charlie. After she had locked the door, she nodded to Watson to move towards the exit. Watson held Annie outstretched in front of her. As they moved through the corridor, they passed several rooms. Some doors were closed shut, and others were lying slightly open.

Watson peered through one of the open doors. She stopped in her tracks immediately when she saw what seemed to be a pair of legs sticking out from behind a desk. Turning around to face Charlie, she pointed towards the room, remaining silent. Charlie moved closer to see for herself, then gently pushed open the door with the rifle she had just acquired - entering slowly. As they moved closer, they could see more and more of the victims legs, then their waist came into view. It was a man, a civilian, and his shirt had been ripped open, exposing his chest, which had turned black and purple from bruising. His blue lips indicated that he had been dead for quite some time. They soon became aware of a second figure. Knelt over the man was a male police officer, with his mouth firmly attached to the victim's. He was an infected, with purple lesions all over his skin, but no blood. What was he doing? He wasn't feeding. Charlie and Watson looked on in awe as the infected blew into the victim's mouth three times. Watson took a step back in horror, knocking a stationery pot over and spilling the contents noisily all over the floor. They both jumped in fright.

The infected man swung around to look at them, staring with his bloodshot eyes. Charlie and Watson's hearts leapt with fear. The extent of his infection meant they could not recognise his face, but the badge pinned to his chest told them he was Constable Farnsworth, a good friend to both of them. Tears began to form as they mourned for their colleague, but the sudden change in his expression snapped them out of it. Was he about to lunge at them? His face had become relaxed, and he looked at them both for several seconds, then turned back and begun pressing both of his hands on the victim's chest, several times. He then moved back to his mouth, blowing three times and filling the dead man's bruised chest with air again.

Charlie and Watson looked at each other, open-mouthed, then stepped backwards towards the door. As soon as they had left the room, they closed the door tight behind them.

"That was the creepiest thing I've ever seen," said Watson, shivering.

"Poor guy," whispered Charlie. Images of Roman pervaded her mind. She remembered how he had stared intently through the diner doors, searching for Ruby, not even knowing why he was doing it. And now they had seen the new and deadlier strain of Rohella affect another victim in a different way. Farnsworth must have been trying to save the man's life by administering CPR when he had become infected. Now he couldn't stop. It was heartbreaking to witness. They lowered their heads.

"Should we do something?" ventured Watson.

Charlie stared at her – horrified.

"I can't bear to leave him like that, Charlie ... or let him die that way ... a slave to a virus."

Charlie hated Watson's suggestion – but she knew it was the right thing to do. There was no way a cure would be found on time to save him. Farnsworth would probably die from starvation or exhaustion long before then, and they didn't want to leave him, knowing that that would be his fate.

"I'll do it," Watson whispered, as a tear streamed down her cheek.

Charlie nodded reluctantly and they entered the room again. As they neared him, he did not look at them again, nor break the pace of his actions. Watson raised the shotgun and aimed it at his head, then pulled the trigger. They both turned their heads away quickly so as not to catch sight of the bloody aftermath. The blast echoed around the room, bringing pain to their ears. They heard him slump on top of the body beneath him. Farnsworth was gone - put out of his miserable, infected existence.

As Charlie closed the door behind them, they felt nothing other than sorrow and guilt. A rush of tears streamed down their faces.

--------x--------

Joey opened the door to the store room. In her hand she held a large dishing out spoon with some spicy cooked food heaped onto it, a mixture of meat and vegetables. She edged towards the window looking into the room below, but could not see Zara Snyder anywhere. Her plan was to open the window slightly, and allow the food to drop on the floor. It was the only way to get it in there without opening the downstairs door and sliding it in on a plate, and there was no way she was going to take that risk. Not only that, considering Zara's diet of finger, penis and spiders during their day so far, she felt a plate would be unnecessarily formal! She wanted to find out more about Zara. Was she capable of eating regular, cooked food? Or would it have to be fresh and still fighting for it's life?

She slid the window open and pushed the spoon between the gap. A bloodied hand reached up sharply and grabbed it, along with one of Joey's fingers. Joey shrieked and pulled backwards, desperately trying to free herself from the grip of the infected woman. Zara held on tightly, pulling the spoon and Joey towards her. She was a very strong woman. Joey's finger slid free, and she banged her knuckles against the window frame as she pulled her hand back to the safety of the upstairs room. Her heart was pounding hard. She gulped and took deep breaths to calm herself. The loud slurping noises below meant that Zara was eating. The next noise she heard surprised her even more.

"Mmmmmmm."

Joey raised her eyebrows in amazement. Despite her new-found love of creepy crawly nibbles, Zara definitely had many of her human traits still remaining. And she seemed to like Joey's cooking very much!

"You're welcome," said Joey, knowing that the woman probably would respond to the noise with another fitful attack. To her surprise she didn't, and continued munching on the food. Joey moved a little closer to get a better view. Zara was now in the process of licking the last of the food from spoon.

She closed the window and stood up, very satisfied with herself. The experiment had been a success, even though it had been a much closer encounter that she had planned. _I must tell Rachel the news_, she thought as she went back downstairs.

--------x--------

Charlie and Watson had almost reached the front entrance again. Their bags were very heavy, and they'd had to stop a few times to take a break. There were now just a few more steps to go. Watson moved in front and looked out through the doors. There seemed to be no movement outside, but it had become much darker. She opened the door for her and Charlie. Charlie took out her keys and walked around to the back of her car to open the boot. They quickly loaded it with their baggage, rifles and extra shotguns.

As soon as they had climbed into their seats, Watson locked the doors from the inside, sighing in relief that although their time at the station had been bad, it could have been much, much worse.

As they drove away from the station, Charlie glanced in her wing mirror at the welcome sign – and the spray paint that had been used to destroy it. It still annoyed her.

--------x--------

Martha and Hugo gathered the plates from the tables and took them upstairs. They had offered to wash the dishes in return for having such a nice meal prepared for them. Joey told Rachel about Zara and the spoon, including her unexpected noises of appreciation. Rachel made some notes in her notebook and went back into the computer room to look for more information.

Ruby, VJ, Leah, Alf and Bill remained seated. Ripley lay asleep on VJ's lap, content and purring.

Ruby sat staring down at the ground. Leah could see the worried look on her face and knew exactly who she must have been thinking about.

"I'm sure she'll be back soon, Rubes," she said tenderly.

Ruby looked up at her and managed a faint smile. She glanced at Joey, who had the very same look of concern. Joey stood up, then moved over beside her and put her arm around her.

"She'll be okay ... Rubes. She's with Watson. They know what they're doing."

"And what if she DOESN'T come back, Joey?" Tears were beginning to stream down her face. "What if one of THEM out there has ... hurt her?"

Joey didn't want to consider that possibility. She was about to try and think of the right words to reassure her girlfriend's little sister, but her train of thought was interrupted by the faint sound of voices coming from outside. It sounded like growling – almost animal-like.

Joey jumped to her feet. No-one else in the room had heard it.

"SHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she hissed as loudly as she could, holding her index finger up to her lips.

Everyone went deadly silent, now able to hear the commotion outside. It was getting louder. They all stood up, and hurriedly tried to remember where they had left their weapons. Leah grabbed her metal bar. Joey picked up the knives she had set down beside her. Alf took his baseball bat from where Hugo had left it. He ran towards the stairwell to call upstairs and alert him and Martha to the new danger, but his efforts were halted by a loud noise behind him. He turned around to see what it was.

A pair of blood-soaked arms came bursting through the window of the front door, shattering glass all around them. The screams of the survivors filled the room, becoming louder as more arms appeared, breaking the broken glass away from around the frame. Even though the shards cut deep wounds into the infected, they did not seem to be able to feel nor react to the deep gashes in their arms.

Rachel had heard their screams and rushed to join the others. When she arrived at the main room, she gasped in horror as the infected tried harder to break down the door, and were now struggling against one other to be the first to gain entry. The bloodied mouths of some meant that they were biters, and they scowled at the human food inside with wild eyes. The uproar sent Zara into another violent rage, and she begun to bang on the store room door over and over.

What were they to do? Stay and fight? How many infected were there? They could clearly see three heads, but behind those heads were more arms – many more arms, trying to get inside.

-------x--------

Upstairs, Martha and Hugo continued to wash the dishes together, unaware of the crisis below. The splashes of the water running into the sink had drowned out all other sounds around them. They reached for a dish at the same time, and their fingers brushed, sending sparks through their bodies. Martha glanced up at Hugo shyly. Hugo blushed and smiled. Their fingers broke apart and they continued as if nothing had happened, but deep down both wished for much, much more.

-------x--------

"WHAT DO WE DO?" yelled Leah in panic.

Suddenly Alf had an idea. "EVERYONE ... GRAB WHAT YOU CAN AND FOLLOW ME!" he said, running down the corridor towards the back of the club.

Leah gathered VJ and Ruby and ran after him. VJ carried Ripley the cat tightly in his arms. Bill wished he'd had shotgun 'Annie,' but settled for an iron bar for protection. He too followed Alf, running. Rachel and Joey picked up Rachel's bag filled with medical supplies, plus the bags Joey and Charlie had packed with clothes, knives and food, and followed quickly, glancing back briefly at the infected who had now almost destroyed the front door, and were kicking at the last remaining shards of wood blocking their entry.

Alf pushed the bar on the emergency exit and threw open the door, allowing everyone to escape outside into the night. He yelled the names of Martha and Hugo, desperately hoping they would hear him. Just as he had done, he saw three of the infected bounding down the corridor towards them, hissing and growling. He slammed the large door, locking them inside. Immediately he was racked with feelings of guilt for having to leave his granddaughter and his friend behind.

"WHAT ABOUT MARTHA AND HUGO?" cried Rachel.

"Does anyone have a phone that works?" said Joey, wishing that her own was still working. "We can call them and warn them to stay up there and lock themselves in one of the rooms?"

Everyone who had a phone took it out, checking for a signal.

"Mine's working," exclaimed Leah. She dialled Hugo's number.

He picked up quickly.

"HUGO. THE INFECTED ... THEY'RE INSIDE ... DON'T GO DOWNSTAIRS."

"_WHAT?"_

"THEY'VE BROKEN THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR. GET INTO ONE OF THE ROOMS AND LOCK THE DOOR .... QUICK."

Hugo hung up in panic.

Alf felt relief that they had been warned in time. He moved off, running along the street. "FOLLOW ME ... HURRY ... I KNOW WHERE WE CAN GO!"

They had no choice but to go running after him.

To be continued ...

Hi everyone. Thank you again for following and reviewing this story. I'll continue to do my best to write and post a chapter every evening, and I'll also continue to try and make it as interesting and creepy a story as I possibly can (but not too creepy – don't wanna give you all nightmares ;) ). I knew you'd all like the Robbo thing. If only all people like him could have it bitten off and spat out again by deranged lunatics, eh? FCBC XXXX


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Charlie and Watson passed the 'Welcome To Summer Bay' sign. They had seen it quite a few times today, but the words did not have meaning any more. Summer Bay had become a place that was no longer very welcoming to anyone.

"God I'm starving," grumbled Watson, rubbing her stomach.

"Me too," said Charlie.

"Me too," said the voice coming from behind them.

Charlie and Watson flinched and shrieked in unison. Her sudden fright made Charlie swerve the car all over the road. They looked behind them to see James Darwin sitting in the back seat, trying to smile innocently through the obvious guilty expression on his face.

"HOW TH-?" cried Watson.

"I'm sorry," he grovelled as the blubbing began again. He sniffed. "I couldn't think of anywhere else to go." His words became all the more high-pitched as he spoke.

"You didn't think hard enough," muttered Charlie under her breath. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? DO YOU KNOW THAT GETTING INTO A POLICE OFFICER'S CAR WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE?"

The anger in her voice cut through the atmosphere. James began to cry again. Watson wondered how he had managed to hold back the tears for so long. The car had been quiet for a whole five minutes!

"It's okay, James," said Charlie, half-heartedly trying to reassure him. She had found him very annoying ever since she'd met him - and that was less than an hour ago.

He cried harder.

"JAMES!" Charlie snapped.

He stopped instantly and hung his head low.

"You can come with us ... but you've got to stop doing that ... okay?"

He nodded his head and rubbed his eyes. Watson looked at Charlie with an amused smile on her face. It was as if she'd been listening to her boss giving a good telling off to a five year old.

--------x--------

Alf hurriedly took out his keys to the Bait Shop and opened the door, safe in the knowledge that it was empty and free from infected people. He was the last person in there the night before, and it had remained locked ever since. Everyone piled inside whilst he retrieved a long pole with a hook on it from behind the counter. He went back to the front door, put the hook in the large metal shutter and pulled it down, securing them all safely inside.

As soon as he had finished, he turned around and chirped, "That'll keep the hungry buggers out!" His best efforts at trying to raise their spirits didn't work. They all stood in the middle of the floor, looking around them glumly at the very small and dimly-lit premises they were now stuck in, surrounded by fishing rods, tackle and camping gear.

"Oh no," fretted Joey, as soon as she realised that Charlie would not know where to find them. "Charlie ... Watson. They don't know what's happened. We need to try to call them." Panic was rising in her, and it was evident in her voice.

Ruby turned pale just thinking about her sister and the dangers she would face if she went back to the Surf Club, unaware that there had been a breach of security. Quickly taking out her phone, she found Charlie's number, dialled and waited. The call could not connect.

"Charlie's phone must not be working. Shit!" she cried in frustration.

Joey took out her own phone and looked at the display. It said - 'No network.' "HOW ARE WE GOING TO WARN THEM?" she fretted, shaking her head. Charlie was in danger. She needed to let her know somehow. An idea came to her.

"Alf ... do you have a piece of paper and a marker pen?" she asked, moving swiftly over to the counter.

Alf found both very quickly and gave them to her. She began to write. As she did, she noticed a small roll of Sellotape on the counter and put it in her pocket. "I'll bring it back .. don't worry."

Alf stared at her. "Joey ... where are you going?"

"I need to warn them ... and if I can't do it by phone ... then I'm gonna have to do it the old-fashioned way ... and go over there with this," she said, holding up the sheet of paper with a message scribbled on it. "They could get hurt if I don't."

"There's no way you're going out there alone."

"I'll only be a few minutes, Alf. I want you to raise the shutter ... then close it when I'm gone ... and wait beside it. When you hear me knock three times ... you'll know it's me and not one of them out there."

Alf nodded. He knew that somebody needed to tell Charlie that they'd had to flee, and Joey was not going to be able to rest until she had sent a message to the woman she loved.

--------x--------

"Hurry back, love," said Alf as he opened the door for her.

Joey smiled at him and turned to face the Surf Club. It wasn't far, and she knew she could be back in no time. Alf watched her as she ran off down the road. He hoped she would come back safely, and without any unwanted company. As soon as she disappeared out of sight, he quickly moved the shutter down again.

Joey ran as fast as she could, slowing a little as she neared the building they had all just managed to escape from. Her plan was to attach the piece of paper to the window, warning Charlie that they had been attacked, and telling her where they had gone. She sidled along the front wall towards the door. Her breathing was heavy, and she tried to hold her breath so as not to alert anyone or anything to her presence. Inside, she could hear growling and other seemingly unearthly noises that sent shivers down her spine, and made her pulse soar. Taking the Sellotape from her pocket, she tore off a piece, and attached it to the top of the piece of paper. Then, she stuck it to the window beside the door. The temptation to peer inside and see how many infected were in there was too strong, and she tried to look in through the window. It was much too dirty to see anything. As she moved closer to the door, she heard a hissing noise very close by, and decided not to risk it. It sounded as though whoever made it was just a few feet away from her.

Backtracking her steps, she sneaked along the front of the building, beginning to run as soon as she was far enough away and could not to be heard by the infected.

The sign she'd left on the window said -

!!!!! DANGER !!!!

STAY OUT

INFECTED INSIDE

GO TO BAIT SHOP

KNOCK 3 TIMES

--------x-------

The three distinct knocks on the metal shutter told Alf that Joey had returned safely. He quickly slid it upwards and let her in. Joey was panting, from fear and also from being out of breath from running - but she was a little bit more content now that she had been able to leave a warning for Charlie and Watson. She entered and sat down in a corner on the floor. The room was much less comfy and spacious than the Surf Club, but it was safer – and that was good enough for her.

--------x--------

As Charlie turned the car onto the road leading to the Surf Club again, she began to relax. The thought of seeing Joey and Ruby again made her smile – and she was looking forward to getting some food. As they neared, she caught sight of the destruction that had befallen the front door, filling her with dread.

"Oh no!" she uttered softly, barely able to believe her eyes.

Watson looked out of the car window in awe. James began to cry pathetically – a whimper. As they came closer, they could see movement inside – lots of movement. It looked frantic and violent. They could see infected, but could not see any survivors. None of them noticed the sign that Joey had left. Charlie's heart sank and she wanted to cry, but fought back the tears. Had no-one escaped? Where was Joey and Ruby? Were they in there fighting for their lives? Or trapped inside somewhere? Her feelings of heartbreak were quickly replaced by anger. She now wanted to go inside and kill every one of the infected, and she had the firepower to do it! The car came to a stop on the opposite side on the road. Charlie turned to face Watson, who could see by the look of resolve on Charlie's face that she was planning to go 'Die Hard' for real.

She shook her head resolutely. "No way, Charlie ... you can't be serious. Do you see how many of them are in there? There's too many!"

"We can handle it. We have enough weapons in here to take out the whole of Summer Bay."

"Yeah that might be so. But there's only two of us here to fire them. We can't go in there guns blazing ... like-like ... some bloody Tarantino movie."

"Watson ... what if everyone's still in there? Did you think about that? THEY NEED OUR HELP!"

"NO WAY, CHARLIE!" she protested. She was too afraid of the sheer number of infected.

Charlie glared at her. "FINE ... STAY HERE. You can hide alongside Captain Crybaby in the back seat!"

James frowned at the title he had just been given, but didn't disagree – nor dare to even try.

--------x--------

Outside the car the wind had picked up, blowing across Joey's sign and making it flip up and down. A large gust caused it to become unstuck and fall to the ground below, landing face down!

--------x--------

Charlie opened her door as fast as she could and moved to the rear of the car. As soon as she opened the boot, she took out a large automatic rifle and as many magazines as she could fit into her utility belt. She loaded one and turned towards the entrance, preparing herself for confrontation. Behind her she heard another door close and turned around. Watson had joined her, and was loading up shotgun Annie.

"If you're gonna die a hero, Charlie ... then someone has to be around to pick up what's left of you and tell your folks you tried your best!"

She pumped the shotgun, ready to move. Charlie briefly managed a smile. They ran across the street to the front door and stood at the entrance, bracing themselves for the onslaught. Charlie's eyes darted around the room looking for survivors, but all she could see were the red and horrible faces of infected people.

Several of them noticed the two women standing at the door, and came bounding towards them, growling like wild dogs.

"AIM FOR THE LEGS," yelled Charlie, as she fired off a few rounds into the nearest infected's thighs, making him fall to the floor. She understood that although they looked inhuman, they were still very much human beings, and if there was a chance that a cure could be found, she didn't want to be responsible for sending them to a premature grave. She had learned at the academy that shooting someone in the legs instead of the upper body would incapacitate them, but caused less damage, and this way they might just be able to stay alive long enough to receive help if help came.

Watson fired off Annie, bringing another infected to her knees, screaming and hissing. Charlie aimed and fired at two more diseased attackers. They fired more rounds, aiming for anything that lunged at them. Soon all the infected were lying on the ground, unable to get up, and more importantly – unable to hurt them anymore. Charlie and Watson moved into to the middle of the room.

"JOEY? RUBY?" shouted Charlie at the top of her voice.

They waited for a response. Nothing could be seen or heard for several seconds, then suddenly they heard footsteps coming from the adjacent corridor, which was now in total darkness. They braced themselves for what might come out. Was it a survivor, or an infected? Their already racing pulses leapt.

Whoever it was could see them, and their pace was increasing as they ran towards them. A beam of light shone on their face as they entered the main room, Charlie and Watson could clearly tell it was another infected, but they were coming so fast that neither had time to aim for his legs. He leapt into the air and landed on top of Charlie, knocking her on her back, and knocking the air out of her lungs. She tried desperately to inhale, but couldn't. The infected man opened his mouth, revealing several sharp-looking teeth, separated by large gaps. It was obvious that he hadn't been a lover of the dentist before his unfortunate brush with Rohella. He hissed, breathing foulness all over Charlie's face. He pushed his hands down on her and tried to bite her shoulder. Charlie pushed back against him with all her strength as she gasped – the air finally returning to her lungs. She was now able to smell the full extent of his rancid breath, and wished she couldn't. Watson rushed over quickly and pointed the shotgun directly at his head, which was getting closer and closer to Charlie's shoulder.

"CLOSE YOUR EYES, CHARLIE," yelled Watson.

Charlie closed them tightly, then listened to the loud bang as Watson put a swift end to the infected's attempts at making Charlie his next meal. Blood splattered all over Charlie's head and neck below, drenching her. She screwed up her face in disgust, daring not to open her eyes or her mouth and say the only word she was thinking – which was '_Ewwwwww'_. Watson pushed the dead man off her colleague and extended her hand down, grabbing Charlie's hand to help pull her to her feet.

Charlie stood up, blinking repeatedly to try and clear the blood from around her eyes so she could see properly. She looked at Watson, who had her nose turned up at the sight of Charlie's beautiful features now completely obscured by liquid gore.

"Ehh ... Charlie ... you've got a little something on your face," she teased, pointing around her own mouth and smirking as if she were telling her she had crumbs around her mouth.

Charlie gave her a look and pursed her lips. This was no time for jokes. She tip-toed to the bar, stepping over the infected who lay face down, unable to see her pass by. As soon as she'd found a towel, she wiped her face as best as she could, then moved back beside Watson.

They immediately went back on alert, assuming that there might be more attackers inside – and possibly survivors.

"JOEY? RUBY? ANYONE?" yelled Charlie again.

"_Up here_!" came the reply.

Charlie recognised the voice. It was Hugo. She ran over to the staircase.

"HUGO ... IS THAT YOU?"

"_Yeah. Is that Charlie_?"

"YES. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE UP THERE WITH YOU?"

"_Just Martha_."

Martha glared at him. Hugo mouthed the word 'sorry'. He hadn't meant it to sound like such a disappointment.

"WHERE IS EVERYONE ELSE?"

"_I don't know. I think they got away. They called me to warn us. We were up here ... in the kitchen."_

Relief flooded Charlie. Joey and Ruby had most likely managed to get out, but she needed to be sure.

"_Charlie ... is it safe to come down_?"

"YES! BUT HANG ON ... WE'LL COME UP ... MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR FOR YOU."

Charlie ascended the stairs, followed closely by Watson. The corridor upstairs was empty.

"Open the door, Hugo ... we're outside."

They heard a key turning in one of the nearby doors – the bedroom. Martha and Hugo emerged and hugged them both – very relieved to see their rescuers.

"Christ ... what happened you?" he said at Charlie, seeing her blood-soaked hair and clothes.

"That's nothing ... you should have seen her a minute ago," joked Watson.

"Are you guys okay?" Charlie asked, glancing at both of them and ignoring Watson's jibes.

They nodded and smiled weakly. They were as okay as two people hiding from maniacal human beings could be.

"Let's go ... we have to find the others," said Charlie as she turned and headed back downstairs.

The other three followed her closely behind. Watson was first, followed by Martha and then Hugo at the rear. As they emerged into the main room again, Hugo and Martha stared in horror at the blood bath that had taken place. They had heard the gunshots from upstairs. Most of the infected's eyes were still open and blinking, but they moved very little. Charlie had expected them to be more animated than this – and she could not figure out why they had suddenly become so docile. Some had looked as though they were biters, others looked like they were angry, and had been infected when they had been in a rotten mood since there was no evidence that they had been feeding. Perhaps loss of blood was weakening them, and therefore weakening the virus, she thought.

--------x--------

Meanwhile, outside in the car, James Darwin sat nervously twiddling his thumbs. He looked through the car window, trying to see if anyone was coming back to get him. His view immediately became blocked by something large - the swollen head of an infected woman who had seen him moving. She hissed at him through the window. James recoiled in terror to the other side of the car, screaming more highly-pitched than ever. The infected woman opened the car door and scrambled inside after him. His legs flailed, kicking her in the jaw. He reached for the door handle and pushed open the door, falling backwards awkwardly onto the concrete kerb outside. His screams of pain and fright only made the infected woman more determined to grab him, and she writhed closer. James leapt to his feet and darted towards the front door of the Surf Club. Charlie, Watson, Hugo and Martha could his shrill screaming as he approached.

"There's a _girl_ outside. She needs help!" shrieked Martha.

Charlie knew it was no girl. She'd only known him for less than an hour, but already she could tell that voice anywhere. "It's James," she groaned.

Suddenly he came bursting through the door. "HELLLLLLLLLP!" He ran past them and into the corner, ducking down behind a table.

Charlie and Watson raised their weapons, ready to fire at whoever or whatever was following him. The infected woman sprinted through the door at high speed. Charlie and Watson fired off two rounds each simultaneously. Both missed her. The woman leapt into the air and aimed for Martha, crashing down on top of her. Martha fell backwards onto the hard floor, banging her head against the concrete and knocking her unconscious. The infected woman bared her teeth and lunged at Martha's uncovered skin, biting her hard on the neck.

"MARTHA!" cried Hugo as he rushed over to help her.

He kicked the woman hard in the ribs, but it did not deter her. She bit harder, shaking her head side to side violently, trying to bite off a piece of her victim. Watson rushed over with the shotgun and pumped it before placing it against the woman's head. The woman sat up and hissed at her. Part of her virus-ridden brain must still have been able to recognise the weapon pointed at her. Watson aimed again and pulled the trigger. Everyone looked away in revulsion as Martha's attacker ceased to have a head with which to bite her.

Watson stepped back and pumped the shotgun again. Hugo stared down at Martha, his mouth open and in shock, then he quickly pulled her out from underneath the infected's body. He took her in his arms and cradled her. Martha was bleeding profusely from her wound, and Charlie rushed to the bar to find a towel. She ran back and pressed it firmly against the gushing bite mark on Martha's neck. The infected had severed her artery and she was losing huge amounts of blood. Hugo took it from her and held it firmly against Martha's neck. He wished that she would open her eyes and speak to him, but she remained unconscious and nearing ever closer to death. Pulling her close to him, he kissed her forehead tenderly. Tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped onto her face, mingling with virulent blood. Charlie sensed that Hugo relationship with her ran much deeper than friendship, and she also sensed that his heart was breaking as he felt the woman he secretly loved slip away from him.

Martha's eyes flickered and she managed to open her mouth, but she was very weak.

"_Hugo,_" she breathed.

Waves of relief washed over him as he saw that she had regained consciousness, and he smiled at her with quivering lips.

"_Martha ... I'm sorry_._ It all happened ... so fast. I couldn't get to her on time before she ..."_

"_It's ... not your fault," _she whispered.

"_I ... I ... love you, Martha. I always have done ... and I'm sorry I haven't been able to tell you before."_

"_I love you too."_

Hugo leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Moments later, her body relaxed as she took her last breath.

To be continued ...


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Having just confessed his undying love to a dying woman, Hugo lay Martha's lifeless body back down on the cold floor again as grief overcame him. His body shook and he cried harder than he had ever done in his entire life. Within a matter of minutes, his whole world had fallen apart. Martha was the only woman he had ever truly loved, and now she was gone. Even though she had reassured him, he was still racked with guilt for not being able to prevent the attack. Images of the infected flashed into his mind. If he were to be attacked by one of them, he didn't think he would be able to find the will to fight back anymore.

Charlie, Watson and James stood by, watching a good man lose everything he held dear. Tears streamed down their cheeks. Watson knelt down and placed her hands on Hugo's shoulders, helping him to his feet. She sat him down on a nearby chair as Charlie and James found something to cover Martha's body. They managed to find an old sheet in a corner of the room and they placed it over her, covering her entirely. Watson sat beside him and took his hand in hers to comfort him. His head was lowered and he tried to hold back his sorrow.

"I ... loved her," he whispered.

"I know," replied Watson tenderly. She felt helpless. What could she say to make it better? There was nothing to say.

Charlie knelt down beside Hugo and Watson. She placed her hand gently on top of their joined hands.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her face filled with sadness. Martha had at one time been a good friend to her, even though they had drifted apart lately.

Hugo stared down at the floor, unable to comprehend everything that had just happened. It had all been so fast, and he felt as though he was now trapped in a horrible nightmare.

James stayed beside Martha's body, looking down at the sheet covering her. He could make out some of her features as the fabric clung to her body, and he suddenly found the sight very unsettling. It sent a shiver down his spine, so he sidled a few more feet away from her.

"Hey ... she's not gonna ... come back ... is she?" he asked. Hugo looked up at him, shocked that he would even suggest such a thing.

Charlie glared at him. "SHUT UP, JAMES!" She knew that his words were upsetting Hugo very much.

"I'm just saying. She's not gonna become like one of those ... zombies over there, is she?"

Watson gave him a look. "James ... you need to stop talking ... now," she warned with forced calmness in her voice.

"I WANT TO KNOW ... I NEED TO KNOW!" he protested.

"NO ... OKAY?" yelled Charlie, banging her fist on the table in anger. "SHE'S NOT GOING TO BECOME A BLOODY ZOMBIE. THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT ZOMBIES. ZOMBIES ARE DEAD ... AND NOT REAL, BY THE WAY ... IN CASE YOU HADN'T NOTICED."

James recoiled at the anger directed towards him. Charlie could see the fear in his eyes - fear that was being caused by her and not by some infected person. She made herself calm down.

"They are infected with a virus ... but still very much alive ... and they're still human," she explained.

It wasn't enough for James. The sight of a man losing his girl made him worry again about his own girlfriend, and panic began to take over him. He walked to the only unoccupied corner of the room and paced up and down. His sobbing resumed once again.

"Zara ... where are you? I need you." he wailed.

Charlie scowled across at him again through narrowed eyes. How could he be so insensitive at a time like this? Hugo had just lost the woman he loved, and there he was, standing there, preoccupied with his girlfriend. She turned again to look at Watson, who could see the annoyance written all across Charlie's face. Charlie opened her mouth to offer some words of comfort to Hugo, but was cut off by James.

"ZARRRRRRAAAAAA!" he cried dramatically.

Charlie lost her temper again. "SHUT THE HELL UP, WILL YOU?" she screamed.

"NO I WON'T ... I HAVE TO FIND HER ... I HAVE TO FIND ZARA!"

Watson could see Charlie's rage intensify, and she silently watched her, pleading that she would keep her cool and not mention anything about his missing girlfriend. It was too late. Charlie shot up off her seat and rushed over to him, staring him straight in the face.

"YOU WANT TO SEE HER? FINE ... SHE'S IN THERE," she yelled, pointing to the store room.

"Uh-oh," said Watson under her breath. She knew this was not going to end happily.

"Wha-? What are you talking about?" asked James, very confused.

Charlie realised she had said too much. It was her idea to keep Zara Snyder's condition a secret in the first place. She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

"What's your girlfriend's name?"

"I told you .. it's Zara."

"Zara what?"

"Zara Snyder."

Charlie's shoulders lurched forward and she hung her head low, scolding herself silently. _Well done, Charlie. Now you've done it. Why couldn't I just keep my big mouth shut?_

She raised her head to look at him again. His eyes was searching her for an explanation, and she felt bad now for ever deciding to keep it from him.

"Come and sit with me," she said, moving to the closest table.

James sat down beside her. Charlie prepared to break the news that she knew would break his heart.

"Your girlfriend ... she's ... infected, James. I'm very sorry." Charlie put her hand on his shoulder. He jerked it away and stood up.

"Why ... didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me that you knew where she was?" he said angrily.

"I'm sorry. We weren't sure if she was the same person you were talking about."

James was a coward but not an idiot. He sensed that Charlie and Watson had both known all along, or at least suspected. His instinct told him to argue back, but the grief of learning about his girlfriend drained him of the will to do it.

"I need to see her," he said, sniffing back tears.

Charlie looked at him and nodded. Her anger was quickly replaced by sympathy and she felt it was the least she could do.

--------x--------

Alf had brought several of his folding fisherman's chairs from storage so that they all would not have to sit on the cold and uncomfortable floor. He'd worried constantly about his granddaughter, but tried not show it too much and fought with his emotions to stay calm. Hugo was with her. He was a strong man and he would protect her.

Joey sat beside Ruby. They each had tried to use their phones to call Charlie again, but both attempts had failed.

Ruby tried a second time, then vocalised her exasperation. "Aaaaaaaargh. I swear ... next time I buy ANYTHING new at the Vodafone shop ... I'm checking the specification on the box to make sure it says 'WILL STILL WORK IN THE EVENT OF A GLOBAL APOCALYPSE' ... otherwise they can stick the damn thing up their arses."

Joey grinned at her in amusement, also thinking that if Charlie could hear her little sister swearing, she would be in big trouble.

Bill and Leah sat talking with VJ, making nice conversation. Neither wanted the boy to feel worried, so they kept it as normal as possible for his sake. Leah had spoken to both Bill and Maureen on a few occasions, but just to say 'good morning' or 'hello,' and she was beginning to enjoy getting to know him. It was also helping to take her mind off Roman and Nicole.

Alf sat beside Rachel, checking that she was feeling okay. Rachel lied and said yes. The truth was a very different matter. Ever since she had struggled to run from the Surf Club to the Bait Shop, the baby had kicked her incessantly. It was becoming very painful, but she smiled and tried to push the information she had learned about Rohella-426 out of her mind.

--------x--------

Charlie and James slipped inside the upper room. She grabbed his arm to stop him before he approached the window.

"You can see her from over there," she said, nodding to the corner of the room which housed the window. "Are you sure you want to do this, James? It's not going to be very easy."

James swallowed hard and nodded. He wanted to see her, but dreaded feeling frightened of her. Fear was something he could not handle at all. Charlie let go and allowed him to walk further, sensing that a crying session was about to begin again. She was right. As soon as James saw the grotesqueness of his girlfriend, and that she was munching on something which had moments before scurried across the floor to evade her, he burst into tears and fell to his knees.

"ZARAAAA NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Charlie stood there watching him, her heart filled with pity.

Zara stopped chewing and looked up at him, recognising him instantly. She ran towards the window and jumped up, clawing at the window. Charlie wasn't sure if it was because she wanted to kiss him or eat him – but she guessed it was probably the latter.

"I'm going to go downstairs for a few minutes, James. Will you be okay?"

He turned to look at her with the saddest of faces and nodded. Charlie felt he needed a little alone time to be near his girl. She left the room and went next door to the kitchen, remembering how hungry she was. As she entered, she noticed two plates of food sitting beside the cooker – untouched. She smiled to herself, realising that they had been left there by Joey, as promised - for her and Watson. After she'd found two forks in the drawer, she touched a little of the food, and decided that it wasn't piping hot, but was still edible and would not need to be reheated.

Watson watched Charlie descend the stairs with plates in either hand, and she smiled at the thought of finally getting some food. She hadn't eaten since the night before. Charlie set one down in front of her, handed her a fork and sat down beside her. Watson thanked her. They both began to eat quickly. Charlie offered some to Hugo, but he was not in the mood.

"Where's the big girl's blouse?" asked Watson.

Charlie grinned. "He's upstairs ... pining after his woman."

Watson's eyes widened. "Charlie ... you don't think he'd ... try anything stupid, do you?"

Charlie kept on eating. "Like what?"

"Like ... trying to set her free ... or go in there with her."

Charlie frowned. "He wouldn't do anything as dangerous ... or as stupid as that ... would he?"

"I hope not. He wouldn't dare," said Watson, finally deciding that trying to get too close to a biter was much too senseless. Even the Gumpiest of Forrest Gumps wouldn't try that – surely? Besides, the upstairs window was very small, but then again, James Darwin was a very small man. She had her doubts.

--------x--------

James stared down at Zara, his long-term lover. She had once been a beautiful blonde – and all woman. He'd always wondered what she saw in him. She was so fit, athletic and a martial arts expert. He was the son of an entrepreneur, Jack Darwin, owner of the famous chain of five star hotels that were now ubiquitous all across Australia. Zara had nicknamed him 'Paris.' He'd never liked that name, knowing it was a jibe that suggested he was akin to Paris Hilton. Regardless of her teasing, James loved her very much – and she was the best lover he'd ever had. Now she was practically unrecognizable. James had identified her by her clothes, and by the way she moved. Her blonde hair was matted with dried blood, and her face was disfigured from lesions and large bumps, thanks primarily to Robbo, and subsequently to Joey.

Zara's eyes had remained transfixed on him, expressionless. Even though she had obviously recognised him, James was unsure as to whether or not she had any memories of their time together. Had her reaction been mere instinct? A remnant of a memory? It was almost impossible to tell. He slid closer to the window and placed his palm against the bottom of the pane of glass. Zara's hand stretched upwards, trying to meet his against the other side of the glass. He gazed deep into her bloodshot eyes, and mouthed 'I love you.'

Some part of her recognised the words as being something good, and her blank expression morphed into one of happiness – however it was short-lived as the virus fought to take over again. She hissed at him and clawed up at the window with all her strength. He jerked backwards and fell hard on his backside, sending a shooting pain up his spine. Jumping to his feet, he ran out of the room and down the stairs, back to the safe company of the women with the big guns.

"Seen enough?" asked Watson.

All James could manage was to nod his head slowly. His eyes looked more sad than ever.

"Okay ...," said Charlie, standing up and looking around at the infected, who were still lying almost entirely motionless on the floor, apart from their blinking eyes. "We need to find the others."

Watson stood up and helped Hugo to his feet. Charlie glanced around the room, noticing something important.

"The bags ... the stuff we brought in here ... they're gone. They must have had time to get everyone out safely."

"I hope so," added Watson.

All four headed for the door. Charlie moved in front, followed by Hugo, then Watson – and finally James. Hugo turned back briefly to look at the body of the woman he loved. His grief magnified as he forced himself to leave her there. He walked out – not looking back again.

As the hotelier's son reached the door, he turned back to look at the store room and sniffed back more tears. He hated the thought of leaving her there, locked up in that horrible store room, and part of him did not want to go. The more he sniffed, the more he realised that his nose was becoming stuffed up. He did not have any tissues in his pocked, and looked around for something to use. On the ground he noticed a piece of paper, and picked it up, intending to make it a tissue substitute. Watson turned around just as he was ready to blow. She noticed the crumpled, handwritten message.

"Hey hey hey ... gimme that," she ordered snappily, holding out her hand.

James froze and looked at her in puzzlement. Surely using a stray piece of A4 paper as a tissue wasn't a criminal offence, was it?

Watson grabbed it from his hand and straightened it out. When she read the words she grinned and handed it to Charlie.

Charlie quickly read the words and grinned. "THEY'RE AT THE BAIT SHOP!" she exclaimed, her voice soaring with happiness . "LET'S GO!"

Watson, Hugo and James ran off towards the new safe house. Charlie began to follow them, but turned back and ran towards her car. She stopped when she saw the back doors lying wide open – the aftermath of James's encounter with the infected woman. As she neared, she checked inside to make sure there were no unwanted passengers, then she closed the doors, got in and started the engine.

Watson was the first to arrive at the Bait Shop, and she knocked three times on the shutter. Hugo and James arrived together. Moments later Charlie pulled in beside them in the car, picked up her rifle and got out. She didn't want to leave her car at the Surf Club. If they needed to use it again for any reason, she wanted to be able to get to it as quickly as possible.

All four waited for an answer. Several seconds later they heard noises from inside. The shutter rattled into life, then raised upwards, revealing a smiling owner – Alf. He saw Hugo first and hugged him.

"I knew you'd guys would make it," he cheered. In all his excitement, he had not noticed the sadness on Hugo's face.

Hugo slumped into the nearest empty chair and buried his head in his hands.

Watson entered, and was hugged by Leah. James followed, and was greeted only by the stares of strangers. Charlie walked in last, and was hugged tight by Ruby. As she hugged her younger sibling, she saw a very happy looking Joey smiling at her from the back of the room. She smiled back at her. Joey could barely move. She wanted to run to her and hug her, but she felt weak and her heart was beating so fast. The whole time Charlie had been gone, she had been worried sick. Seeing her again was almost too much, and she felt dizzy. Charlie walked up to her and threw her arms around her. They held one another tightly, burying their faces in each other's necks. Joey had feared she would never see her again, or touch her. She'd worried that she would never again catch the sweet scent of her perfume, or the way her hair always seemed to smell of her favourite roses. Tears flooded her eyes in happiness. They moved apart, but remained enveloped in each other's embrace. Charlie looked into her eyes, then gazed down at Joey's tears as they rolled down her face. She caressed her cheek and wiped them away gently with her thumb, then drew her towards her for a tender and lingering kiss. It was as if the room had suddenly emptied, and only they existed. Neither even considered the fact that they were in a small room surrounded by other people.

Everyone looked away in respectful consideration, all apart from James, who was feeling a stirring in his underpants that he couldn't control. He could not take his eyes off them, and his mouth fell open. Standing beside him was Ruby, and she noticed his stare, and how much he seemed to be enjoying the view. She coughed and elbowed him to get his attention. It made him jump.

"Who are you?" she growled.

He extended his hand. "James ... James Darwin. Pleased to meet you, young lady."

She studied his face warily, and with no intention of accepting his gesture. She just wanted to know the name of the man she was about to berate. "James? Are you going to stare at my sister and her girlfriend all night? Or just until it goes so _hard_ that it FALLS OFF?"

Subdued giggles surrounded them, including those of Charlie and Joey, who had heard the young Buckton speak words that were far beyond her young years.

James cheeks turned pink, and then crimson.

Alf quickly closed the shutter, then looked around, suddenly realising that his granddaughter was missing. He felt panic rise.

"Where's Martha?" he asked. As soon as he realised the look of despair on Hugo's face, his heart sank and he felt a pain deep in the pit of his stomach.

Hugo was shaking. "_I'm sorry ... I couldn't save her_."

Alf fell to his knees beside him and began to cry. "Noooooooo. It can't be . What happened?" he sobbed.

Hugo could barely bring himself to tell him the details. They were too horrifying. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing could come out. Alf helped him to his feet and took him to the rear of the shop, so that they could talk, and grieve, in private.

-------x--------

Joey held Charlie even more tightly, realising that they must have been through hell in order to get there safely. The loss of Martha made her feel so lucky that Charlie was back safely in her arms. "What happened back there?" she asked tenderly. Then she noticed the blood all over Charlie's clothing. "And what happened to YOU?" she shrieked.

Charlie took a deep breath and exhaled as the images of her friend's suffering pervaded her mind. "She was attacked ... by one of the hungry. It bit ... her neck. She lost too much blood. We couldn't save her."

Joey hung her head. She didn't really know Martha, and if she were to be completely honest, she didn't like what she'd come to know of her. But she also was sad to learn of her horrific demise. Nobody should die that way.

Charlie hugged her tightly, and tried to think of something comforting to say – but could not find the words. She decided not to tell Joey about the attack on her own life, and the real reason she was covered in blood. Perhaps a change of subject might help. "You see him over there?" she asked, nodding towards James Darwin.

"The new guy?"

Charlie nodded. "He's just visited his girlfriend back at the Surf Club."

Joey looked at her, baffled by what she meant.

"Zara," explained Charlie.

Joey's mouth fell open. "The poor guy." She gave him a look of sympathy.

Charlie wasn't feeling so compassionate. She stared at him in dislike. "I have to warn you, Jo ... he's a whiner ... and a bit of a sissy. You'll be wanting to feed him to the biters by the end of the night ... mark my words!"

Joey grinned. "Really?"

"Yeah. He was crying when we found him. I've known him for just over an hour ... and he's spent most of that time crying and howling like a woman. I didn't know a man _that_ small could have _that_ much water in him!"

Joey giggled and put her hand over her mouth, hoping James could not hear them. They kissed briefly then moved apart. Charlie sat beside Ruby to talk to her, and Joey went off in search of the bathroom.

She found it at the end of a small corridor. On the way past, she had noticed a few doors and wondered what was inside. They were closed. More rooms? She hoped so. The main room at the Bait Shop was becoming very cramped.

The window of the bathroom was frosted, so Joey could not see outside. Placing the plug in the sink, she allowed warm water to fill it halfway, then daubed some on her face to freshen herself up. She was tired, and it showed around her eyes. Now that they were all locked inside a building with sturdy metal shutters, they could at last settle down and get some sleep, safe in the knowledge that nothing or no-one could get to them. She was looking forward to it and hoped they would find somewhere comfortable.

As soon as she had switched off the light, she headed back to the main room. She did not notice that the door she had passed minutes earlier was now open. As she walked past it, a hand grabbed at her t-shirt and dragged her sideways into the darkened room. She flinched and tried to scream, but couldn't. Fear had gripped her and she was powerless. Two arms quickly wrapped around her waist, and she felt a familiar pair of soft and moistened lips press against her own, kissing her passionately. She allowed it to develop for a few seconds, then pulled back.

"CHARLIE!" she yelled.

"Shhhhhhhh," breathed Charlie.

"You scared the CRAP out of me!" cried Joey, slapping her arm.

Charlie giggled and pulled her close again, until their noses touched. "Boo," she whispered softly.

She reached out and closed the door, giving them some much-deserved private time - alone together.

To be continued ...

Hi guys – this will be my last chapter for a few days. I'm sorry. Amelia Louise – please don't be mad at me! I can hear your sigh already. Heh heh ;) I've now posted everything I've written and I'm working on chapter 14 at the moment. Gonna take a few days to write and develop the story – and choose a direction to take it in, that is, if you guys want to read more. Please let me know if you would like some more very strange things to happen. And thank you again so much for following and reviewing this story. I know I've said it before, but your comments really are very much appreciated and brighten up my day - FirstCenturyBC


	14. Chapter 14

Okay – I know this is T-rated, but what the hell! I can't go into the same detail as the Moonlight Shadow stuff, but hopefully I've made sure that it's ... tastefully described. It's been a few days since my last post ... so here's a little recap. All are safe at the Bait Shop, and Charlie has just dragged Joey into a side room for some ... ahem ... small talk. Enjoy ;) FCBC

**VERY STRANGE THINGS:**

**Chapter 14**

As James passed by the side rooms on the way to the bathroom, he was not able to hear the soft moans coming from beyond the wall. Had he been aware, he would have had his ear stuck firmly to the door listening - in Man Heaven.

Inside the room, Charlie and Joey were becoming more and more naked as their passion for one another intensified. They had not ventured any further into the darkened room than beside the door, and neither had any idea what type of room they were now in, but it was not important. All that mattered was that they were together, and still very much in love - and in lust - with one another. Joey's back rested against the cold wall, with her bottom perched on a very small table, having been lifted up there by Charlie's slender yet surprisingly strong arms. Her legs were wrapped tightly around Charlie, pulling her hard against her own body. Joey's t-shirt, and Charlie's blood-splattered Bruce Willis-esque white 'vest' top lay on the floor. They hungered for one another, and they kissed as if it were the last time their lips would ever meet. Amidst their frantic motions, their tongues delved ever so gently into one another's mouth, licking and teasing – and sending the other into an ever higher state of arousal.

They relished the warmth and comfort of each other's bodies against their own. Their hands caressed every place that their imaginations allowed them to. At some moments, their touch was gentle, and at other times rough and exciting. It was Girl Heaven.

--------x--------

Alf and Hugo had joined the group again in the main room, but had sat together and away from the others as far as they possibly could. They were in mourning, and wished they had more space to deal with their loss. Both had to accept that privacy was not going to be possible, and certainly not there in the confinement of the Bait Shop.

Rachel's pain had eased a little, but her back was hurting. She wriggled in her chair, trying to find comfort.

"Are you okay?" asked Ruby, who had noticed her distress.

Rachel smiled as best as her suffering would allow - which wasn't a lot. "Yeah ... I'm fine. Just a little lower back pain."

Ruby looked around, and spotted a cushion in the corner. She fetched it and put it behind Rachel's back.

"Thanks Ruby ... you're a sweetheart."

Ruby sat back down and tried her best to relax in her chair. She stretched her arms and legs, and yawned.

"Good idea, Rubes," said Leah. "It's getting late ... and I think we could all do with some shut eye, don't you think?"

Everyone nodded. Watson looked around her, her eyes searching the room for the missing members of the group. She'd seen James go towards the bathroom a little while ago, but Charlie and Joey had been missing for what seemed like ages.

"Where's Charlie and Joey?" she asked.

Ruby looked at her, then raised her eyebrows and smirked – displaying her 'can't you guess?' look.

"You mean ... where are the love birds?" she said. "They're probably in a broom cupboard or something ... doin' the wild thing."

Watson giggled. She knew that Ruby was probably right. Reaching into her pocket, she took out her phone and found the number of her long-term partner, John Crick. He was an aid worker, and spent a lot of time travelling to sub-Saharan Africa with his colleagues at UNICEF. He'd left a few days ago and had flown to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help teach local men in a small town how to grow and care for their own crops. His father had worked in the same profession, but had been unlucky enough to travel to a remote village in that very same country back in 1976, when it was known as Zaire. During the summer of that year, the first ever recorded outbreak of the Ebola virus took over one hundred lives, including several nuns and John's father James. He had been just four years old when his father died.

Watson had tried desperately to call John from Northern Districts Hospital the night before, as soon as the mayhem erupted. Her mobile phone could not connect any further than the automated operator in the Congo, but it had still drained her phone of credit almost entirely. How would she be able to get more? There was no-one left to buy it from. How would she call him? She sank into her chair, deflated and worried. All day she had tried her best not to think about the danger he might be in, but now in the peace and quiet of the night, she found it very difficult to think about anything else.

--------x--------

James Darwin washed his hands and pulled a green paper towel from the dispenser to dry them. Memories of Zara staring up at him with those eyes made him feel frightened again, especially now that he was in a room on his own. He quickly opened the door and walked towards the main room, pausing beside one of the adjacent doors to listen. He could hear sounds. Strange sounds. It sounded like moaning and shrieking. They were female voices, and they sounded very scary. He was convinced one of the infected was close by – perhaps in one of the rooms.

The others saw him appear. He was shaking and his eyes were wide. He pointed his finger frantically back towards the room.

"There's ... in-in-infec- ZOMBIES ... IN THERE!" he stuttered. "I CAN HEAR THEM! IT'S HORRIBLE!"

Alf and Hugo jumped to their feet and grabbed their weapons.

"That's impossible," said Alf. "No-one could have gotten in here without keys."

Watson stood up and picked up Annie from beside her. Everyone else stood up nervously but moved no further. There was no room for more than three in the corridor. However, they kept one eye on their weapons – just in case. The three of them moved tentatively towards the direction that James was still pointing to. As they neared, they could begin to hear the sounds for themselves.

As soon as they became loud enough, Watson recognised the voices, lowered the shotgun and swung around to glare back at James.

"You bloody _tit_, James! That's not the infected ... it's just the ... ehh ... horny."

She shook her in annoyance and walked back into the main shop. Alf and Hugo paused for a few more moments. Had they not been so grief-stricken, they might have enjoyed listening for a bit longer. They turned and joined the others too, pushing James with them, who was in no hurry to go anywhere.

--------x--------

Charlie and Joey had moved onto the floor. Neither were aware just how loud they had become, especially Charlie. Her little sister was less than fifteen feet away, and could usually hear a pin drop at 100 metres!

Even though the floor was very cold and very hard, they didn't seem to mind. It was safe in there, and that was the most important thing. They were enjoying the darkness too. Charlie's hands and mouth worked hard to bring her now-naked lover to orgasm - and it was working. Joey vocalised her pleasure with increasing volume, gasping and uttering random noises that made Charlie very proud of herself. Joey's body stiffened, and she cried aloud, almost shrieking as she reached the moment of release.

Charlie giggled, suddenly realising that their lovemaking had become much noisier. "Shhhhh," she whispered.

Joey gasped and exhaled, taking deep breaths - trying to regain her breath. "Charlie [gasp] you can't do those things to me [gasp] and then tell me to [gasp] shush. It's _not_ gonna happen!"

Charlie laughed. "Sorry! I'd just forgotten how loud we were."

Joey found Charlie's lips in the darkness and kissed her softly. They settled down to enjoy some 'after-O' snuggles.

--------x-------

"I've got one of these for everybody," said Alf, his arms filled with rolled up sleeping bags. The usual cheery tone he'd always managed to sustain had all but disappeared. One-by-one everyone stood up and took one from him, thanking him.

"I've got some roll mats here somewhere ... y'know? ... for inside tents? They might make this floor a little bit more ... comfy. I'll have a look for them."

Leah stood up to help. She wanted to hug him tight and kiss him on the cheek, anything to make him feel better. But she resisted. Tomorrow she would talk to him instead.

--------x--------

Inside the other room, Charlie and Joey's lovemaking continued unabated. They writhed together on the floor, completely naked. Only their discarded clothes protected them from the cold tiles below. Joey had taken control moments earlier, and was determined to reward Charlie's hard efforts with something just as equally amazing. Both were still feeling the stresses of the day that had changed everyone's lives, and their need to work off some more of that stress made their efforts all the more fervent.

It was not very long before Charlie's back arched in response to the pleasure assault on her body, her arms and legs sprawling uncontrollably. She was more conscious of her noises this time, and kept them at a lower level than Joey had done. She didn't want anyone to hear them, and if they already could, she felt they didn't need to be reminded all the way to the end. Joey increased her actions, kissing, touching and licking the woman she loved in all the right places, sending Charlie further into bliss. As Charlie approached orgasm, she allowed herself to utter a few sounds of enjoyment, but stayed subdued. The noises made Joey smile, but she kept her concentration, and her tongue and fingertips continued to work their magic. Charlie voiced one final loud groan as she felt the beautiful eruption between her legs, the pulsations throbbing inside her almost as strongly as her thumping heart beats. Feelings of ecstasy took over her, and she had to fight the overwhelming urge to bring her knees tight together. Had she given in to her impulse, Joey's poor head would have emerged a tad more oblong than when she started.

Charlie's body relaxed, but her breathing remained strained and rasping. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. It felt strange. In the darkened room, the view was no different, whether her eyes were open or not. She felt Joey's lips on her tummy, trailing kisses upwards towards her breasts as she moved upwards to be beside her again.

Charlie would have been happy to stay in there all night. "Mmmmmmmmm." She raised her arms and ran them through her own hair, but stopped as soon as she felt the matted tats. It was then that she remembered how they got like that back at the Surf Club – the biter. Charlie had not seen herself in the mirror since it had happened, but she guessed she was probably not looking her usual best, and was glad that Joey could not really see her. She was going to find somewhere to at least wash her hair before they went to sleep. Joey slid her body tight against Charlie's and kissed her neck gently. Their lips found one another again in the dark, and they kissed tenderly.

"We should probably get dressed and go back to the others. They'll be wondering where we are," said Charlie after a few minutes of resting.

"Ehh Charlie ... I'm fairly sure they know where we are by now ... unless they're all deaf, that is."

Charlie giggled. The only person she was really concerned about was Ruby. The idea of her little sister hearing her in the throes of passion was a disturbing thought.

After one more lingering kiss, they stood up and attempted to dress themselves in the dark. It wasn't easy. Charlie searched the wall for a light switch, but could not find one. Joey found the handle of the door, and opened it to allow some light in. The rays reflected off the light switch, and Charlie flicked it on so they could see exactly where they had spent the last half hour of their life. The room was quite small but very clean. In one corner were shelves filled with extra fishing rods, plus bait and tackle supplies. In the other corner, an assemblage of pictures inside ornamental frames were stacked neatly up against the wall, of all different sizes. Charlie reckoned there must have been about twenty of them. A sheet partially covered them over, and she walked over to investigate. She smiled to herself when she began to flick through the collection. Every one was an oil painting depicting half-naked or fully naked women. They were very beautiful and obviously painted by very talented artists. A thought crossed her mind. Could Alf be the artist? Did he have a secret passion? It would explain why he had so many of them, both here and at the Surf Club. She showed them to Joey.

"Niiiiiice ... I wonder if he's selling any of these?" Joey teased. "They'd look great in my bedroom."

Charlie grinned at her. "Now why would you need those when you've already got _these_ to look at?" she teased, plumping up her cleavage right under Joey's nose.

Joey's stared at them, smiling. They were mesmerising. She shook her head vigorously to snap herself out of her pretend trance-like state. It made Charlie giggle.

"Let's go face the music, shall we," Charlie said, offering her hand. They left the room and walked the short journey back into the main room. As soon as they entered, all eyes were on them. Ruby was grinning inanely. Most of the others had broad smiles across their faces.

"So ... you managed to drag yourselves away from each other finally," chirped Ruby. "We were just talking about how we were planning to separate the two of you with buckets of cold water."

Charlie and Joey blushed and sat down.

"We're about to settle down for the night, girls," said Alf. "There's two sleeping bags for you over there," he said pointing to behind the counter. "I thought that ... since you two are a couple ... you'd like a little bit of privacy ... away from the rest of us ... so I put yours in there."

They both smiled and said "Thank you."

Charlie finally caught sight of herself in a small rectangular mirror on top of a sunglasses display stand. _Ewwwww ... I need to wash my hair right now_, she thought.

She turned to Joey. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Joey smiled at her and blew her a kiss.

"Awwwww ... so cute, you two," said Ruby.

Charlie walked off in the direction of the bathroom.

--------x--------

Ten minutes later Charlie emerged with a towel she had found draped over her head. There was no bath or shower in the Bait Shop, just a very small sink, but she'd managed to wash her hair and get out most of the infected's goo. She had also been able to dry it a little on the hand dryer. It had made her feel a lot better and she was suddenly ready for sleep, and lots of it. The floor was almost like a human carpet, and she had to step over Leah, VJ and Bill to get to the hatch that would allow her to go behind the counter to where Joey lay waiting for her. It looked pretty comfortable and quite cosy.

Joey stood up to allow Charlie access to her sleeping bag. She looked across at the rest of the group.

"Jeez, guys ... if the nasties out there could get in here now ... we'd all be history," she said. "Look at us ... all wrapped up like boil in the bag dinners ... ready to eat."

Everyone managed to smile and looked around the room, thinking about Joey's statement. It was true. She had managed to raise their mood a little, yet again.

"What do we do from here?" asked Bill, who hadn't said much all evening. He'd obviously been thinking deeply about all that had happened.

Charlie had an answer. "The first thing we do is get a good night's sleep. Then in the morning ... we can talk about what to do and where to go from here. We'll figure something out, guys."

Her words were reassuring and they made a lot of sense. One by one the survivors drifted off into slumber. Charlie and Joey lay awake face-to-face a little longer than the others.

"There'll probably be some bad dreams had tonight," lamented Joey in a whispered tone.

Charlie nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "Us too, no doubt."

"If you happen to wake up ... and you hear me dreaming ... will you wake me, Charlie? Please?"

Charlie smiled warmly. "Of course I will. And I want you to do the same for me."

"Sure."

They kissed, closing their eyes and allowing it to deepen just a little.

"You know I love you, right?" whispered Charlie. "I need you to know that."

Joey smiled shyly. "Yes ... I know. And I love you too. Good night."

They held one another tightly, and wriggled in their sleeping bags until they were comfortable in each other's arms. Moments later, they drifted off.

To be continued ...


	15. Chapter 15

Hi there - I would like to dedicate this chapter to summer009, who has managed to spot pretty much ALL of the obscure and not so obscure movie/science/pop culture references that I have peppered the story with so far – (I'm especially chuffed that you got the 'Watson & Crick' DNA reference). Brilliant. See you at the next 'Nerds Anonymous' meeting! ;-)

And thanks again to all of you for reading and reviewing. I have to say that this crappy UK 'summer' weather has been thoroughly depressing lately. So thank you for helping to brighten my day – FirstCenturyBC

VERY STRANE THINGS:

**Chapter 15**

DAY TWO

The small slatted window at the top of the wall behind the counter had allowed the Sun's light to pervade the room ever since it's appearance over the horizon around 7 a.m. Joey was the first to wake and check the time on her phone. It read 11.13 a.m. During the night, the sound of Charlie talking in her sleep had awoken her. She'd sensed that Charlie was having a nightmare, and she'd gently kissed and stroked her bare back and shoulder to help soothe her. Then she'd covered her over with her own sleeping bag. It had worked, and she was thankful that she didn't have to wake her up. Charlie needed to get as much rest as possible if she were going to spend another day being the woman in charge.

Joey lay back down, thinking about the day before. The horrible memories of everything that had happened flashed through her mind. She wondered if today would be the same, or would things be any better – safer. Perhaps that was wishful thinking, she thought. There was every chance that it could be much worse.

She slid out of her sleeping bag and placed it over Charlie to keep her warm. Charlie did not move. Joey watched her as she slept, her eyes gazed at Charlie's chest as it rose and fell. She moved to look at her closed eyes, her beautiful long curling eyelashes resting gently on her cheeks. Then she gazed down at Charlie's lips – those lips she loved to kiss and bite ever so gently. She wanted to kiss them right there and then, but she forced herself to look away before she gave in to temptation and woke the woman she loved prematurely.

As soon as she stood up, she looked across at the others. They were all still sleeping soundly, but she knew they would awaken soon and would probably be very hungry. She was also convinced that the Bait Shop would not have a kitchen, or much of anything for that matter. It made her wish that the more spacious Surf Club had had the metal shutters instead of a tiny fishing shop with no amenities. On top of the counter, she found the bag she had filled back at Leah's the day before, and checked it quietly to see what food was still in there. There were tins of fruit, soups, stews and other snacks that would not keep so long. They would have to be used up first. She picked out a few boxes to look at them. They contained cereal bars. The logo on the front said "Hudson & Hicks," a confectionery company, and one of Joey's favourites. She decided that they would make a very suitable breakfast for everyone. When she and Leah had made dinner the previous evening, they hadn't needed to use much of the food from the bag. Alf's kitchen had stocked most of the things they needed, and plenty more besides. It had crossed her mind that they might have to go back soon to get extra, provided that more infected hadn't taken up residence there too.

The hatch on the counter creaked as Joey lifted it. She tip-toed towards the bathroom, stepping over sleeping bodies as she moved. As soon as she had filled the sink with tepid water, she washed her face and hands. It refreshed her and helped waken her up. The frosted bathroom window blocked out the details of the world outside, and she considered opening it up just a little to peer outside. Had anything changed in any way since the night before? She was curious. As her hand reached for the handle, a large shadow passed the window quickly. She flinched and stepped backwards, but was too shocked to utter any sounds. What had created it? Was it an infected? A survivor? Maybe it had been the shadow of a bird flying past. Whatever it was, she decided to let it fend for itself out there. As soon as she had finished washing, she dried herself on a paper towel and walked back along the corridor towards the main room. There was not much light along that part of the shop, and she noticed a small dark area in one corner. Suddenly the dark spot moved and came towards her. She wanted to scream, but all that came out was a rather pathetic-sounding squeak. She put her hand over her mouth, and at the same time she realised what it was. Ripley the smokey cat had also awoken and was looking for her breakfast too. Joey's fright made her curse the cat silently. _Bloody arse-licking fur ball!_ She picked him up and carried him back into the main room.

Alf was now awake and sitting up with his back against the wall, staring into space – and looking very melancholy.

Joey's heart filled with sympathy for him once again. Losing someone you love is always heartbreaking. And it must be especially difficult knowing that her death was the result of a vicious attack by another human being.

She sat down beside him, crossing her legs in front of her. Ripley sat on her lap and curled up into a ball, purring. Reaching out, she placed her hand on Alf's shoulder. He finally turned to look at her.

"She's gone, Joey ... and I never got the chance to say goodbye ... or tell her I loved her."

"I'm so sorry, Alf," she replied tenderly.

He stared down at the floor again. Joey patted his back with her fingers in the same way that anyone would do if they were trying to comfort someone that they didn't really know all that well. From the moment she'd first spoken to him, she'd liked him instantly. He was a jovial man who always had something good to say about everyone.

"I'm sure that she already knew you loved her," she said, hoping to offer him at least some comfort.

His bottom lip began to tremble. "I hope so."

Across the room, VJ, Leah and Bill were beginning to stir, stretching their arms and yawning.

"Morning," murmured Leah as she felt the urge to yawn again.

"I'm hungry," croaked VJ.

Joey turned to Alf again. "Does this place have anywhere to cook food?"

"No, love ... sorry ... there's just a kettle in the other room ... and there's tea and coffee in there," he replied, regretting that he hadn't made more of an effort to install a kitchen when he and Hugo had bought the place. How was he to know it would eventually be needed as a refuge for survivors of an apocalypse?

Joey stood up, set Ripley gently on the floor and moved back behind the counter, sliding in behind Charlie and cuddling up to her. She wrapped her arm round her waist and buried her nose in Charlie's hair. The smell was heavenly in her nostrils. It reminded her of flowers. Charlie began to stir, and she took Joey's hand in her own, their fingers becoming intertwined.

Charlie opened her eyes and yawned. She turned around to be greeted by the loveliest of sights – Joey, grinning at her – her hair tousled and tossed.

"Good morning," whispered Charlie with a huge smile on her face.

"Good morning," replied Joey, leaning closer for their first kiss of the day.

Their lips barely touched, but the sensation was both arousing and comforting.

"Want some coffee?" asked Joey sweetly.

Charlie's smile widened even further. Joey took it as a resounding 'yes.'

--------x--------

One hour later. Everyone had awoken, having slept more soundly than they thought they would. Joey had made coffee for all except VJ, who drank some orange juice from Alf's mini fridge – the only thing at the Bait Shop that closely resembled kitchen equipment. Joey had given them all a cereal bar for breakfast, and they had accepted it very gratefully. Ripley had been given a few leftovers from the fridge – spaghetti - and although it wasn't a usual part of a normal feline diet, she was too hungry to reject it.

James had sat thinking about Zara almost ever since he had opened his eyes. He felt terrible for leaving her there, locked in that cold room, and he missed her terribly. What was she doing now? What was she feeling, besides hunger? Was she thinking about him? Was she thinking about anything? Part of him wanted to go back to the Surf Club just to be near her. He felt it would be a comfort to both of them.

As soon as the group had cleared away their mats and sleeping bags, they had filled the floor with the chairs they had found very comfortable the night before – ready for their discussion on what to do next.

"I think we should stay here where we know it's safe and we've got some security at least," said Hugo.

"I agree," said James. Everyone especially Charlie knew that his motives for staying put were borne out of cowardice rather than common sense.

"We can't stay here for very long," said Joey, "security or no security. Pretty soon our food will run out ... and we'll need to go somewhere safe that has a bigger supply."

"Yeah," agreed Ruby. "Like in the movies they always have the sense to go somewhere that's got plenty of food and clothes and stuff ... like a shopping mall or something. Where the hell do _we_ end up? A _fishing_ shop .. BRILLIANT ... all the dried worms you can eat!"

Charlie glared at her, chastising her in silence. Sometimes Ruby opened her mouth before thinking about who she might offend. Alf had saved them from the infected. Had it not been for him, who knows where they would have ended up. It could have been much, much worse.

"I know this place isn't ideal," said Alf defensively, "but it'll have to make do in the meantime. Those shutters out there are made of stainless steel. King Kong couldn't break them."

Ruby felt a little guilty and sank into her chair, promising herself to stay quiet for the rest of the discussion. "Sorry," she said humbly.

"The shopping mall thing is a very good idea," said Watson. "But the only trouble is ... Summer Bay doesn't have one."

The entire group went very quiet, deep in contemplation.

Rachel took the opportunity to say what had been on her mind since the night before. "Guys ... I have an idea."

They all perked up in their chairs, ready to hear her out. She was a highly respected person in Summer Bay, and the surrounding areas, so whatever she had to say would probably be very sensible.

"There is one place I can think of that will give us everything we need ... and help us plan for the future," she began.

"Where?" asked Bill.

"Northern District Hospital," she replied.

"WHAT?" shrieked Watson. "You mean the place where the REALLY crazy infected ones are?" she asked disbelievingly. "The place we were chased out of? The place where you almost had your hand bitten off?"

Rachel turned to face Watson, to explain. "It's got very good security in some of the departments. And it's got food supplies .. medical supplies .. internet access .. and something much more important than all of those things."

"What?" asked Charlie.

Rachel looked her in the eye. "The right equipment ... so that I can work on a cure."

Alf stood up. "Rachel ... do you really think you can do that? I mean ... find a cure."

"I'm fairly confident ... yes."

Watson was dubious. "Fairly confident _really_ means "no ... I'm not really sure at all"," she said, sounding like the ultimate pessimist.

"Not true, Georgie. I believe that I can do it."

Joey, Leah, Hugo, Alf, Ruby and Bill exchanged glances and mouthed the same question. _Georgie?_ They all realised that up until now they had only known her by her second name. Rachel had gotten to know her well at work. Georgina Watson had brought many injured people to see her, and they liked one another very much. It was Rachel who had coined her nickname in the first place and Watson had grown to like it.

Rachel continued to explain. "I know I can do it ... just as long as I'm able to get the key to the cure to the hospital."

"The key to the cure?" asked Charlie with a frown. "And what is that?"

Rachel took a deep breath and exhaled before breaking the good news. "All of you. And me."

Suddenly the room was was filled with very confused people.

"I don't understand," said Ruby, breaking her promise of silence to herself. "How can we help?"

"Well," began Rachel, "we are immune to the more ... ehh ... _unfortunate_ effects of Rohella ... which means we all carry the antibodies in our blood that are required to fight against it. We have the equipment at Northern District that will allow me to isolate those antibodies ... and create a serum that we can administer to the infected."

"Administer how?" asked Ruby. "Give the biters a chew toy ... then bend them over our knees and stick a needle in their arse?"

"RUBY!" scolded Charlie. "That's so rude ... and watch your language!"

Ruby grinned at her cheekily, her smile widening when she saw the look of annoyance on her big sister's face.

"I'm not sure how," replied Rachel. "But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

To Charlie, it all seemed too good to be true. "Are you sure it will work?"

"I'm not one hundred percent certain, Charlie ... but it's the best chance we've got to save the people we love ... and everyone else."

Watson stood up and moved to the centre of the room. "It's a great idea ... I admit, Rachel ... but there's just one problem. How do we get there? And get there safely? We've only got Charlie's car. It won't take all of us."

Hugo had an idea. "I could go get my car. It's not far from here." He turned to Charlie. "You can drive me over there. I've got the keys here in my pocket. We could be back in ... say ... five minutes ... no more."

The discussion had begun to fill everyone with optimism - and they all, including Alf, were happy with the idea of a change of location. The Bait Shop was very congested, and the air inside was getting more and more stale.

--------x--------

Most of the survivors had remained in their chairs. Charlie had hugged her sister, who had told her to be careful. Now she and Joey stood near the shutter.

"I won't be long," said Charlie tenderly, her arms wrapped around Joey's waist.

"I know," replied Joey. "And anyway ... I'm kinda getting used to you leaving me like this ... so no big deal," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Charlie smiled and kissed her, admiring her for pretending to be nonchalant and unworried. It made their goodbye a little easier.

Charlie looked across at James, who suddenly averted his eyes away from them. She rolled her eyes and tutted, but hadn't really expected to see anything else from him. He obviously had a fondness for seeing women together.

"James ... you're coming with us," she ordered.

He sat upright in his chair and began to fidget – his bottom lip trembling at the news he did not want to hear.

"Wh-why me? I don't have any weapons ... what if one of THEM gets me?"

Watson was walking past on her way to the bathroom. "Well ... there'll be one less idiot in the world for a start," she said matter-of-factly.

Charlie and Joey grinned at her, but kept themselves from laughing out loud.

"Let's go," said Hugo. "The sooner we get there and get back the better."

Charlie slipped from Joey's embrace and picked up her rifle from on top of the counter, strapping it over her shoulder. She took her keys from her pocket and moved back to the shutter. Alf raised it with the rod a little, allowing Hugo to crouch down and check that the path outside was clear. It was. He nodded to Alf, who opened it all the way up. Hugo moved to the car, followed by James, who was now equipped with a wooden stick. Charlie was not prepared to give him anything more capable of inflicting pain than that. Who knows who he might accidentally club if he got scared – and getting scared was very likely where James was concerned!

Charlie moved onto the path outside, then turned back to face them all, eyeing out Joey and Ruby.

"Lock up quick. We'll give the knock when we get back," she said, smiling at her sister, and then at Joey.

Joey chastely blew her a kiss. Charlie made a gesture to catch it. Moments later the shutter was drawn again.

--------x--------

Along the way, they had seen even more signs of struggle. They hadn't travelled more than two hundred metres from the Bait Shop, and already they had seen two bodies at the side of the road. Infected. It looked as though they had died of blood loss and not at the hands of another infected - or an immune trying to defend themselves. Who were they? Were they one of their friends? Charlie kept on driving.

"It's just around the corner," said Hugo, pointing to a left turn on the road ahead. "I left it outside my place."

"Did you manage to get in contact with Xavier?" asked Charlie.

"Yeah ... I called him yesterday afternoon as soon as we found out from you guys about the virus. He's okay ... and so are mum and dad. Lucky for him that he went to visit them when he did. Their house is surrounded by big metal fences. They'd seen the warning on the news and locked themselves inside. I told Ruby that he's okay as soon as I got the chance."

It hadn't even occurred to Charlie that Xavier was not with Hugo when they had arrived at the Surf Club. She'd had too many other things on her mind. Now that she knew, she was relieved that her little sister's boyfriend had survived, even if she was not completely happy that their relationship was developing so fast. Xavier was a good guy, and he seemed to think the world of Ruby.

The car turned onto the next street on the left. Hugo's MPV was where he'd parked it outside his house, and it looked untouched. Charlie pulled up beside it and stopped.

Hugo glanced around to see if anyone or anything untoward was nearby. The area seemed to be clear. He got out and checked again quickly, armed with the baseball bat that had remained close to him ever since he had acquired it the previous day behind the bar at the Surf Club. Charlie got out and readied her rifle in case of sudden and unexpected attack.

"Stay here," she commanded James.

James had no intention of getting out anyway!

They edged cautiously towards Hugo's silver Mercedes. It was a large vehicle, which could easily accommodate six people. He'd bought it a few years ago, so that he could take Xavier and Brendan away on camping trips.

Charlie peered inside the side window, her eyes darted around looking for movement. It was empty. She nodded to Hugo, who used his keys to open the locks remotely. _Click_! The indicator lights flashed twice.

Hugo opened the drivers door and got in. As soon as he turned the key in the ignition, the engine roared into life, and the sound was accompanied by a large thud. Charlie and Hugo were startled. What was the noise? Another thud quickly followed the first, and Charlie noticed a brand new hole in the bodywork that had not been there moments earlier.

"WE'RE BEING HIT ... GET DOWN," she yelled and ducked behind the car.

Hugo dived across the front seats as more bullets bombarded the front of his car. He could hear the fracturing of glass above his head. Charlie knelt with her back to the rear of the car and peeked out in the direction from which the attack was coming. Up ahead, at the far end of the road, she saw what unmistakably looked like a military blockade. Concrete and barbed wire barriers were spread across the road, and several individuals carrying rifles and wearing bright yellow virus protection suits nestled behind them.

"Shit," she screeched. "Idiots. Can't they see we're not infected."

James had hid in the back seat of Charlie's car as soon as he saw Charlie and Hugo take cover, even though he had no idea why they were doing it. He could barely hear the bullets as they hit, but didn't recognise the sound.

As soon as the firing had ceased, Charlie stood up and waved her arms frantically.

"DON'T SHOOT ... WE'RE NOT SICK ... WE'RE NOT SICK!" she shouted.

A voice could be heard over a megaphone.

"_COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP."_

The person behind the speaker sounded very young indeed, thought Charlie – a soldier still in his teens perhaps. Not only that, there was a fear in his voice, which explained his 'shoot first-ask questions later' approach.

Hugo sat up and immediately checked his car for damage. One of his side windows had been hit, and a large crack ran all the way from one side to the other. He got out quickly and moved beside Charlie and James, who were both standing on the road, arms aloft. James looked as though he was about to either have a nervous breakdown, or soil his underwear.

"_THIS IS THE 1st ARMOURED REGIMENT ... YOU ARE ORDERED TO GO TO A SECURE LOCATION ... AND STAY THERE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."_

"THAT'S WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO .. YA MORONS" yelled Hugo. "BEFORE YOU DECIDED TO TRY AND KILL MY CAR."

"Shhhhhh," said Charlie. She didn't want any more confrontation with them. In her experience, Army soldiers generally had bigger and better guns than police officers, but smaller brains.

"_YOU ARE ORDERED TO GET IN YOUR VEHICLES ... AND TURN AROUND."_

All three put their hands down simultaneously and ran back to their cars. James clambered in beside Charlie. Hugo slid into the drivers seat of his Mercedes, and hoped that the bullets hadn't done too much damage.

They turned their cars in the road quickly and sped off back in the direction of the Bait Shop.

--------x--------

The two vehicles pulled up beside the front door. Charlie got out, followed by James, who knocked three times on the shutter. Within seconds it had been raised, and Alf was there to greet them. Charlie was about to go inside when she remembered something that had crossed her mind earlier that morning. She went to the boot of her car and brought out an extra rifle, slinging it over her shoulder by it's strap. Hugo locked the Mercedes, looked at the badly damaged bodywork, then cursed the Army under his breath. Alf ushered him inside.

As soon as Charlie entered, Joey ran up to greet her with a very tight hug. Even though Joey knew their mission to get Hugo's car was short, she had still been unable to stop worrying about her the whole time. Ruby came over and joined in, making it the nicest of group hugs. She didn't say a word – and remained silently relieved that her sister had yet again returned to them unharmed. Letting go of the happy couple, she sat back down beside VJ, roughing his hair playfully with her fingers. He punched her arm and giggled. The sound of young laughter was a unexpected comfort to all of them.

Joey looked into Charlie's eyes, then they shared the gentlest of kisses. Charlie took her by the hand and led her to the corridor outside the bathroom.

"I'm so glad you're okay," whispered Joey, hugging her again – even more tightly.

"I have something for you," said Charlie with a smirk.

Joey raised her eyebrow, hoping it meant what she thought it meant. Delicious ideas entered her head and she nodded towards the store room that had been the scene of their lovemaking the night before.

Charlie smiled at the idea, but shook her head slowly. Joey's face dropped, and she pursed her lips, looking at Charlie with big brown sad puppy dog eyes. Charlie reached behind her and produced the spare automatic rifle.

Joey's disappointment vanished in an instant and she beamed widely. It wasn't exactly what she had been expecting - but it was by far the next best thing.

To be continued ...


	16. Chapter 16

Apologies for the delay in posting, especially to Amelia Louisa. I hope the withdrawal wasn't too hard to cope with, AL. And yes I could hear your sighs loud and clear :) I'm starting to feel like a 'dealer' these days. I should be skulking around on street corners, wearing long a overcoat and saying:

"Pssst ... hey ... you need any story?" ;)

Thanks again everyone for reading and reviewing. Will you get the references hidden within this time round? Enjoy :) FCBC

**VERY STRANGE THINGS**

**Chapter 16**

"Great ... no more running around with kitchen knives," beamed Joey, taking the automatic rifle from Charlie and holding it in her arms. It was much heavier than she'd anticipated and she had to take a step forward to keep herself from falling over.

Charlie giggled at her. "A little out of shape, are we?"

"A lot!" she replied, groaning under the weight of it. "I'm gonna have to do some body building exercises just so's I can carry it around with me ... never mind be able to fire it."

"Well ... I'm going to teach you how to do just _that_ ... right now," said Charlie. "Let's go in there." She pointed towards the room with the collection of oil paintings in the corner.

They entered and closed the door behind them.

--------x--------

In the main room, Leah, Bill, Hugo, Alf, Watson, Rachel and Ruby were discussing how they might get to Northern District Hospital. VJ sat in the corner playing with Ripley. He was teasing her with a piece of string, and the feline swiped at it repeatedly with her paws, convinced it was the tail of a very large mouse. James sat further away from them all, and did not take part in their conversation. He was buried too deeply in his own thoughts. Zara was on his mind. The more he worried about her, the more he wanted to go and see her again. He was beginning to forget about her infliction, and her penchant for biting humans and eating insects and arachnids as if they were potato crisps. As far as he was concerned, the love of his life was close by, and he was not by her side. He felt helpless.

"We'll have to plan our route carefully," said Hugo. "There are probably Army blockades going up all over the place ... and they seem to be very nervous ... and it's making them _waaay_ too trigger happy. My car is proof of _that_!"

"The Army is here?" quizzed Rachel.

"They must have arrived today," he replied.

"I hope they're not running about ... shooting everything that moves," said Watson. "They're good at that. There might be people out there like us who are immune ... and others who could be cured ... eventually."

"Unfortunately ... there's nothing we can do about that," said Bill. "I'm an ex-Army Major ... and I know exactly how these guys operate. I say we take the back roads to the hospital. The blockades will more than likely be on the main roads ... and we can worry about saving the people of Summer Bay from the Army _if_ and _when_ we have a cure. The Army won't listen to us otherwise."

Everyone agreed.

"I have a road map in the glove compartment of my car," Hugo remembered. "Alf ... can you open the shutter for me?"

"Sure."

They stood up and moved to the front door. Alf repeated the same tactic from earlier, raising it a little so that Hugo could check that outside was clear. Then he raised it fully, allowing Hugo to exit the shop. Leah stood up and moved cautiously towards the door. VJ followed her. She wanted just a few moments of fresh air, and to be out of the confines of such a small room. Others could see what she was doing, and it seemed to them to be a good idea too. They all followed, except for VJ, who was too busy having fun with the cat.

Deep breaths of cool clean air helped to clear fuzzy heads, and the Sun's rays pierced their pupils, making them contract with a hint of discomfort. Their eyes had become adjusted to the dimness of the Bait Shop, and it would take a little while for them to recover. Looking around, nothing seemed too unusual. However in the distance, even the blue sky was illuminated with the remnants of burning buildings and cars.

Hugo unlocked the Mercedes and found the map, then quickly locked it again. He moved swiftly back inside, and was followed by his fellow survivors. Alf closed the shutter.

They sat back in their chairs and continued making their plans. No-one noticed that one survivor was missing. James.

--------x--------

Inside Alf's storage room, Joey did her best to get to grips with the automatic rifle. She stood at one end of the room with the rifle raised and aimed at the far wall. Her legs were slightly apart to help steady herself, a stance that Charlie taught her a few minutes beforehand. Charlie stood very close behind her, with one arm wrapped around her waist to guide her and make sure she held the correct posture. When one moved, their bodies brushed together – sometimes rubbing - a little harder than a mere brush. Both were finding it very difficult to concentrate.

Charlie's eye line was level with Joey's as they focused along the barrel of the gun - with one eye closed. Charlie's lips were pressed just behind Joey's ear.

"So ... you line up the front sight with the rear sight," she explained with a softness in her voice that gave Joey goosebumps all over and sent a very pleasant shiver down her spine.

"Okay," she replied, raising her pitch at the end of the word, awaiting the next instruction.

"Make sure you hold the butt tight against your body ... otherwise it'll kick back."

"Oh I love it when you talk dirty to me, Charlie," said Joey with a smirk.

Charlie laughed. "STOP IT, will you? And concentrate. I'm trying to teach you enough so you won't end up accidentally shooting us all!"

Joey turned her head to look her in the eye. "Are you sure you trust me with this thing?"

Charlie kissed her cheek softly. "Completely."

Their lesson continued.

--------x--------

James Darwin had almost reached the front doors of the Surf Club. His heart was thumping, and he regretted not bringing the baseball bat from the Bait Shop. It had been sitting beside him just before he'd left – but he didn't want to bring attention to himself, and so he'd slipped out without it, then hid around the corner until everyone had gone back inside.

He put his ear against the window, but could not hear any sounds. Where were the infected? Had they moved on? Had they bled to death? His heart was thumping so hard it resonated in his ears. The noise was deafening. _Okay James ... you can do this_, he told himself. He breathed deeply and exhaled slowly to calm his nerves, however it didn't really work. His heart only beat faster and more loudly. He stuck his head around the corner and looked past the broken door frame, but saw only one body – and it was covered with the same sheet he and Charlie had found the night before.

As he stepped inside, he could now clearly see that the infected had gone. Where were they? Had they moved to other rooms? Found more victims? James felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing tall, and he dreaded what he might find in there – or what might find him. He tip-toed towards the store room at the rear of the main room – the room that held his girlfriend prisoner. The place was eerily quiet and he had never heard it like that before. The main room now had a very creepy atmosphere. He suddenly wished he had tried to talk one of the others into coming back with him, but he figured that the beautiful but bossy one would just have gotten mad at him and told him to shut up again. There was no point in trying.

A gap underneath the door allowed him to bend down and see her feet. She still wore the mid-heeled shoes she'd put on the day before, but now one of the heels had broken off. He moved towards the stairs and ascended slowly and as quietly as he could. When he neared the door leading to the window, he paused. A wave of common sense washed over him, urging him to go back to the Bait Shop and forget all about Zara. However, his love for her won over his emotions, and he turned the handle of the door, listening to it creak.

As he neared the window, he could see her. His heart leapt – from fear and from exhilaration - in equal measures. She looked hideous, the bumps on her head were still as large as they were yesterday, but James found it easier this time to see past her physical appearance. All he could see was the woman he adored. Zara sensed movement above her and looked up, staring wide-eyed. James froze. How would she react to seeing him again? Had her condition changed since yesterday? Was she more 'human' again? Or less? He crept closer and sat down at the window. Zara remained motionless, still staring with the same frightening expression on her face.

He placed the palm of his hand against the window - as he had done the day before. It was met by Zara's fingers touching the glass delicately. Was she remembering her love for him? Or had she become too weak to claw up at him as she had done yesterday? He gazed down into her bloodshot eyes, and she gazed up at his, watching as they filled with moisture. The sight evoked some memory in her, and she began to whimper. James's heart filled with pity for her and his tears flowed instantly. Zara's eyes too were beginning to well with emotion, and a single blood tear ran down her cheek.

"Don't worry, baby," he whispered. "I'm here ... and I'm getting you out of there."

--------x-------

Charlie had been impressed by Joey's ability to learn quickly. She had shown her just once how to load and unload a magazine, and she'd got it first time. They stood practicing together. Joey fumbled with hers a little, but Charlie's movements were smooth and precise.

"Damn ... you're so good at this, Charlie," said Joey, frustrated at her own efforts, which to her seemed feeble in comparison. "I didn't know you were such a kick-ass gunslinger."

"Don't worry," Charlie reassured her. "You'll get the hang of it. It just takes time."

"Well it's not just as simple as that. You're obviously some kind of robot cop ... and I'm just a girl."

Charlie laughed. "Ohhh .. so you think I'm half-machine do you?"

Joey smiled and nodded. "Yeah ... but I think I've done okay so far. Well ... not bad for a ... human."

Charlie smiled at her and nodded. "Not bad ... ... not bad at all. Now ... let me show you how the safety works," she said, tapping her finger against the red button near the trigger guard.

--------x--------

Hugo unfolded the road map and spread it out on the floor so they all could read it.

"Shouldn't we get everyone in here?" asked Watson. She looked around the room. "Where's Charlie and Joey?"

Ruby sighed. "Oh god ... not again! They CAN'T be!" She stood up, walked over to the store room and knocked loudly and abruptly. "Hey you two," she shouted. "Can't you save that stuff until after the world crisis is over? I mean SERIOUSLY ... it's not like you guys can help repopulate the planet in there or anything!"

There was silence. Ruby waited for an answer. The door opened and out stepped a very amused Joey, grinning at her – followed by a very unamused Charlie.

Ruby beamed when she noticed the rifles they were carrying over their shoulders. "Ha ha ... chicks rule!"

As they entered the main room, Alf looked at the heavily-armed couple and smiled.

"Oh look ... here come Charlie Bronson and GI Joey," he quipped. It was the first time since yesterday that he had sounded more like his usual self.

Some of the people in the room were much younger than Alf, and too young to know who Charlie (Charles) Bronson was. They weren't around during the 70's when he was the biggest, and arguably the ugliest action hero in all of Hollywood history.

Charlie prepared herself to head the discussion. She looked around.

"Are we all here?" she asked.

"Uhh ... yeah," replied Watson, her eyes darting around the room counting heads. "NO wait!"

She counted again. All eyes were on her as she tallied up the numbers.

Suddenly her face had a look of deep concern and she turned to look at Charlie. "Where's James?"

Charlie scanned the room looking for him. "When was the last time anyone remembers seeing him?"

They all searched their memories.

"I saw him just before we went outside to get this," said Hugo, pointing to the map on the floor.

"And I definitely saw him outside," added Leah. "He was standing beside me."

The expression on Charlie's face reflected her sudden concern for the skinny man's whereabouts – and his state of mind.

Charlie looked around at all their faces. "Did anyone see him come back in?"

They looked at one another. Nobody was able to give a positive reply to her question. Charlie lowered her head and pinched the top of her nose, shaking her head in disbelief. This was all she needed!

"I can't believe it!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air, her anger growing. "I can't believe he'd be so STUPID as to go BACK there again."

Leah frowned. "Back where?"

Charlie's eyes met with hers. "To see his girlfriend."

"No way, Charlie," said Joey, "he wouldn't ... would he?"

"He would," Charlie assured her. She moved over to the door. Alf realised her intentions and moved over to her quickly to raise the shutter, sensing her urgency to act.

She looked at her colleague. "Watson ... load up ... let's go!"

Watson stood up and lifted Annie from beside her. Charlie turned to look at Joey.

"You ready for some live target practice?"

Joey's eyes widened. She hadn't been expecting to use her newly-acquired skills quite so soon - and she wasn't sure if she was ready, but she moved beside Charlie instantly, and began to repeat over in her head all that she had taught her.

--------x--------

James had moved back down to the main room. He stood in the middle of the floor staring down at his open palm, and they key he held in it. The back of the keyring was facing upwards. It was inscribed with the name 'S & R Gecko,' and he recognised it as the name of a hardware store in Yabbie Creek. The key had been hanging up behind the counter, and the hand-written tab slotted inside the keyring had helped him identify it as the one he needed. As he stood there, doubt entered his mind, but was quickly brushed aside by the delusion that Zara was regaining her health and was fighting back against the virus.

He walked slowly up to the door and placed the key in the lock. In the silence that surrounded him, the brushing of metal key against metal lock seemed to echo around the room. He paused for a few moments before finally turning it all the way around - then he took a few steps backwards and waited for Zara to emerge. Nothing.

The door did not open, nor did he hear her make a sound. He moved a little closer and placed his hand on the door knob. A lump in his throat forced him to swallow hard, and he realised that his mouth was dry from fear. Finally, he mustered the courage to open the door, doing so ever so slightly. There was Zara - kneeling in the far corner of the room, facing away from him. Her jaw was moving. Slowly, she turned her head to look at him. James froze in fear – and disgust. The large legs of a Huntsman spider protruded from her mouth, and she stared at him - chewing slowly. Any illusions James had of a kiss-laden reunion dissipated into thin air. He screwed up his face and began to backtrack his steps, realising that he was now in grave danger. Zara had not recovered at all! She stood up and limped towards him, edging closer and closer to the door. James wanted to run forward and close it again before she could escape, but he was too afraid to move towards her. He continued to inch further backwards. Zara passed the door frame and moved into the main room, staring at him – and swallowing the one remaining chewed leg. James froze, causing Zara to stop too. He was sure that she was about to begin her attack any second.

They stared intently at one another. James wished he knew what was going on in her mind. Did she recognise him still, or had the virus taken over again? He didn't have to wait long to find out. Slowly, she raised her arms towards him, holding them outwards. James's mouth fell open. There was no mistaking the gesture. She wanted to hold him in her arms – to embrace him. Relief washed over him as he sensed that some of her humanness still remained. She was getting better! He moved slowly towards her and raised his arms, wrapping them around her waist as soon as they met. They held each other tightly, burying their faces against one another's neck.

Zara closed her eyes and smiled, experiencing her first happy feeling since the previous morning, when the virus had invaded her body and taken over her. Blood tears cascaded down her cheeks and splashed onto James's shirt. She pressed her lips against his neck and kissed him. James cried in sadness at all the sweet memories their reunion had evoked in him. Zara opened her eyes, her smile disappearing in an instant. Her happiness had been replaced by a more familiar feeling – hunger. She looked down at the flesh just inches away from her mouth, and she could see James's carotid artery pulsate as it channelled the blood from his heart. The urge to bite was overwhelming. She opened her mouth and sank her teeth into him, biting as hard as she could. James screamed in agony, his legs weakened and he fell to his knees. He tried to push her away, but she was much much stronger than him.

"NO ZARA," he cried. "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

At that moment, Joey arrived at the front door, her face contorting in horror at the sight of Zara attacking yet another victim – her own boyfriend.

She rushed across to help, slinging the rifle behind her back and grabbing Zara by the shoulders, trying to pull her away. Zara was much stronger than both of them, and her bite held firm. She growled at them, but was drowned out by James's high-pitched screams.

Charlie and Watson arrived together, and ran across the room. They too grabbed her arms and legs, trying desperately to free James from her bite. All four struggled together against the infected woman, who seemed to have acquired a new-found strength.

Joey let go, and slid her rifle around, raising it in the air to strike Zara in the only way she knew that worked. She hit her hard on the head with the butt of the gun, causing Zara to release her bite and make her very unsteady. Joey hit her again, harder this time, knocking her to the side. She landed hard and almost comically on her backside. Charlie and Watson stepped backwards. Joey's blows had stunned Zara for a few seconds, but her hunger rapidly took over again and she lunged towards James, who scurried backwards to avoid her, clutching at his neck. Joey acted quickly again, this time raising her rifle, unlocking the safety button and firing a single round into Zara's leg.

Zara screamed in pain, and clutched at her new wound, her eyes darting up at Joey menacingly. She hissed and growled at her, and made several other sounds that seemed as though they could not have been uttered from a human being's mouth. Joey did not flinch. She stood there looking down at her.

"That's for breaking my ribs ... ya bitch!"

Charlie and Watson looked at one another in amusement.

Zara responded with louder hisses, as if she'd understood Joey's words and didn't like them one bit.

"Blah blah blah," replied Joey, making the gesture of a talking head with her hand. "I've heard it from you ALL BEFORE, love."

Watson giggled. "We didn't even need to be here, Charlie."

Charlie smiled warmly at her girlfriend. It was a very proud moment.

"Where did you get this one from?" continued Watson. "We could do with her on the force."

Joey hadn't heard nor seen Watson or Charlie since she had attacked Zara with the rifle. She had been too focused on the woman who had hurt her the day before. She turned around to look at them - surprised to see them grinning at her.

A look of confusion spread across her face. "What?"

To be continued ...


	17. Chapter 17

Hi all – Well done to those of you who spotted the 'Aliens' reference in the last chapter. There was also a reference to 'From Dusk 'til Dawn,' albeit a less obvious one. Can't make them too easy, right? Did anyone spot it? :-D

Here is another 'Strange Fix,' as Amelia Louisa so nicely put it! Love that phrase! Hope you enjoy – FCBC x

VERY STRANGE THINGS

**Chapter 17**

James clasped his neck in pain – his high-pitched squealing continued to grate the ears of everyone around him, including his girlfriend. She growled at him – more out of irritation than hunger. Charlie was convinced that if Zara were able to talk, she would be telling him to shut up. She hadn't managed to bite through his artery, but she had given him several nasty puncture wounds which hurt so much that it felt as if burning coals had been placed against his neck.

Charlie looked at him through narrowed eyes. "And what do _you_ have to say for yourself, genius?"

The expression on his face was a mixture of pain and embarrassment. "I thought she was better."

Watson glared at him and pointed at Zara's mouth, which was dripping with fresh Darwinian blood. "LOOK AT HER! Does she _look_ better to _you_, dummy?"

James shook his head. "No," he said meekly, lowering his head in shame.

Joey knelt down near to her old nemesis, but made sure she was not within reach of her. She tilted her head to study her closely. Zara's forehead was now covered in bumps, and a fresh one at the back of head looked as if it were the most painful of all. It was huge. She thought about Robbo, and how Zara had been responsible for his unpleasant demise. Her mind wandered off, and she found herself trying to figure out which part of him she had sunk her teeth into first. Charlie's voice snapped her out of her daydream.

"Hey ... Joey ... lets go. We need to move out of here and get to the hospital."

James immediately stopped wailing and stood up. "B-b-but ... we just can't leave her here."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Watson scowled. "Take her with us? She won't make a very good passenger, James. If you want to be the one to take her to Northern District ... be my guest!"

"C-couldn't we tie her up ... or something?" he pleaded.

"NO, James," said Charlie firmly. "That's a dumb idea. She's staying here! If you want to stay with her ... fine. Don't let us stop you."

Then, James said something which surprised them all. "Look ... we could tie her hands, her legs and her mouth ... and take her to the hospital. She can go in the boot of your car. That doctor woman is going to need an infected to test her magic serum on anyway, right? She could test it on Zara."

Charlie, Joey and Watson looked at one other in amazement. Had James Darwin just said something constructive and helpful? Had he presented them with a good idea? Nobody could disagree with his way of thinking – well, not on this point anyway. They would need an infected to use as a guinea pig. Zara had finished Robbo off in style, so Joey was keen to see her make a recovery so that she really could thank her properly. Charlie had much the same opinion. Watson was happy to agree as long as it meant that James would shut up for five minutes!

"Okay," said Charlie. "Let's bind her legs and arms together ... and gag that snapping mouth of hers. We don't want any more accidents along the way."

"We need some rope or something," said Watson, looking around the room to see if there was anything they could use.

Joey stood up and moved to one corner of the room. She reached under a table and lifted some old fishing rope that she had seen there the day before. Returning to the others, she unwound it. Then she took a small knife from her pocket, cut the rope into long pieces and gave them to Charlie and Watson.

"Okay get ready," she said. "Did they ever teach you girls to 'lady wrestle' at police academy?" Joey asked with a smirk.

Charlie giggled. "Err ... no ... I must have been on a sickie that day."

Zara remained sat on the floor staring at James. She turned to look at Charlie, Joey and Watson, who were all staring at her with a look of intent on their faces - and ropes in their hands. She sensed that something was about to happen, but the virus invading in her body prevented her from realising what it was. The girls made their move swiftly and forcefully. James watched on in awe as they fought to overpower the woman he loved.

--------x--------

Back at the Bait Shop the other survivors had waited patiently for them to return, wondering what was taking them so long. Had they found James? Was he still alive? Or had he become Zara's afternoon snack?

"I bet she ate him," said Ruby gleefully, "then licked her fingers and wondered what was for main course."

Leah smiled at her. "Yeah he is a bit skinny, isn't he?"

"Skinny? There's more meat on a stick of celery!" she replied with a chuckle.

Three knocks on the shutter ended their conversation sharply. Alf rushed over to open it. Watson was the first person he saw, followed by James. Charlie was behind him, and Joey was several feet further back. There seemed to be something in between the two of them, and whatever it was, he could see that Charlie and Joey were carrying it. He leaned closer to look, seeing Zara Snyder bound, unconscious and laid out on a makeshift stretcher - a surf board. He flinched at the sight.

"STREWTH ... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN' BRINGIN' HER IN HERE? HAVE YOU GIRLS GONE CRAZY?"

The rest of the group rushed to the door to see.

"For Christ sake, Charlie," exclaimed Hugo, "that woman's DANGEROUS."

"Not now she isn't," said Joey. "She has to come with us."

"What for?" shrieked Ruby. She was shaking at the sight. The woman on the surf board looked disgusting - and hideously disfigured.

"Just let us in and we'll explain," said Charlie to her little sister, who was blocking their entrance.

Ruby stood firm. She gawked in horror at the red lesions covering Zara's skin, her lumpy forehead, and the blood around her mouth.

Charlie's impatience grew. "RUBY .... MOVE!" she ordered with a glare and with such a sternness in her voice that not even Ruby dared to argue back. She gave in and stepped aside.

Watson, James, Charlie, Joey and Zara entered. Alf closed the shutter. Charlie and Joey set Zara and the surf board down in the middle of the room. The already cramped room was now completely congested.

"Okay ... let me explain," said Charlie. She turned to look at Rachel. "You're going to need an infected to test your serum on, right?"

Rachel nodded.

"So ... we'll need to bring one with us," continued Charlie. "And our good friend Zara here has already proven that she's been _more_ than capable of feeding herself since the virus struck her down ... so it won't have weakened her too much. And believe me ... she's still pretty strong. We've just had first-hand proof of that."

Watson and Joey looked at one another and raised their eyebrows in agreement.

"Charlie ... I'm not so sure about this," said Alf, scratching his head nervously. "I mean ... she could wake up at any moment."

"Well if she does she won't be able to hurt anyone," Joey reassured him, "so don't worry. She's been bound and gagged."

Charlie looked around at all of them. "Hugo ... how many people can your car hold?"

"Six ... maybe seven," he replied.

Charlie began to address the group, raising her voice so that they all could hear her.

"Alright everyone ... now listen up. I want this thing to go smooth ... and by the numbers. Joey ... Ruby ... Leah and VJ ... you guys can travel with me. We'll put her in the back," she said, pointing down at Zara.

"NO WAY, CHARLIE," protested Ruby. "She's not sitting on MY knee."

"That's not what I mean, Rubes ... we'll put her in the boot of the car."

Ruby was relieved to hear that nugget of information!

Charlie continued to fulfil her role as planner. "Hugo ... you take Alf, Rachel, Watson, James and Bill with you. Gather up everything you need and get ready to leave. Let's move it, people!" she said, clapping her hands to urge them into action.

Everyone engaged in the plan at once, including VJ who went to find Ripley. There was no way he was going to leave his new friend on her own to fend for herself. Charlie, Joey and Rachel made sure to gather the bags they had brought with them. As Rachel lifted her medical bag off the floor, she felt a sharp pain and clutched at her tummy. Her face contorted as she tried to suppress it. Joey noticed and moved over to her.

"Rachel ... when are you due?"

Rachel exhaled, pursing her lips to blow out the air slowly - in the very same way that she had instructed hundreds of pregnant women to do at Northern District.

"Two weeks," she replied. "But I'm not sure this baby is prepared to wait that long."

Joey's eyes widened. "You're going into labour?"

Rachel winced again as another sharp pain . "I think so."

Joey took Rachel's bag from her, made her sit down and walked quickly to Charlie.

"I think we have an emergency on our hands, Charlie."

Charlie looked at her in alarm. "What is it?"

"It's Rachel ... she's about to have the baby."

Charlie rushed over and knelt down beside her. "How far apart are the contractions?"

Rachel's face distorted again as she felt another searing pain. "They're pretty close, Charlie."

"Have your waters broken?"

"Not yet."

Charlie thought for a few moments. She took Rachel's hand in her own. "Don't worry ... we'll get you to the hospital as soon as we can." She smiled at her, masking her true feelings. The hospital had been a very dangerous place the last time they had been there. Was it even safe to enter? And even if they could get in, who was going to deliver the child? Rachel was the only doctor. Charlie stood up and moved quickly towards Alf.

"We need to move now, Alf ... open the doors."

Alf glanced across at Rachel, then turned back to Charlie and nodded. The reason for her urgency was apparent. He raised the shutter, allowing them all to move to the vehicles outside. Hugo unlocked his Mercedes, allowing Watson, Bill, James to enter. They put the three bags in the back. Charlie and Joey helped Rachel to her feet and guided her to the front passenger seat. Charlie unlocked her car allowing Ruby, Leah, VJ and Ripley to get inside, then she and Joey went back to get Zara. The others watched as they emerged carrying the infected woman on the surf board. They moved to the back of the car and set her down. Charlie opened the rear hatch, then they knelt down and lifted her. As soon as they did, Zara began to regain consciousness. They quickly wrestled her into the boot of the car, but not before hitting her head on the the side of the vehicle – this time purely by accident.

"Oops ... sorry," said Joey. She bit her bottom lip, feeling a little bit guilty.

Zara felt a sudden rush of energy and began to flail around, her arms and legs thrashing, hitting against the sides of the car and causing deep thudding noises that frightened the other occupants.

Charlie took a few steps backwards. "Great ... how are we gonna close her in there when she's like _this_?"

Joey had an idea. She swung her rifle from behind her and raised it, ready to strike. She prepared to cause another knockout blow on the count of three, saying the numbers in to herself. _One ... two ... th-_

"WAIT!" came a loud voice from behind them. Charlie and Joey turned around.

Rachel's head protruded from the open passenger window. "I can help."

She opened the door and slid out awkwardly, then moved to the back to get her bag. The others watched as she searched for something in one of the side pockets. Moments later she walked towards Charlie's car with a syringe, a small bottle and a short angled plastic tube.

"I can give her a sedative. No need to hit her again."

Charlie and Joey stood aside to let her work. Rachel filled the syringe with clear fluid, then looked down at Zara's red and swollen skin, wondering how on Earth she was ever going to find a vein.

"I'll need you two to hold her down. Can you do that?"

"Yes," they replied together.

Joey placed her hands firmly on Zara's shoulders and pushed down hard to stop her body from wriggling. Charlie grabbed her arm, holding it outstretched for Rachel. She inserted the needle using her best guesswork, then retracted it and held up the plastic tube.

"What's that for?" asked Joey.

"It's to make sure that she can breathe. It keeps her airway open .. and prevents her from swallowing her tongue."

Joey looked at her in surprise, realising what needed to be done next. "So you have to put it in her _mouth_? ... where her TEETH are? Those big ... dangerous TEETH? She might bite your finger off!"

Rachel smiled. "Joey ... in a few minutes ... when the sedative kicks in ... she won't even be able to bite her _own_ finger ... never mind anyone else's."

Joey giggled. "That's the best news I've heard all day."

The three of them watched as Zara slipped slowly into unconsciousness. As soon as she was out completely, Charlie pushed her arms and legs inside the cavity of the boot of her car and closed the hatch. Rachel groaned as another painful contraction coursed through her.

"Okay ... lets get you to the maternity ward," said Charlie.

She and Joey helped her back into her seat, then moved quickly to the other car, climbing inside. Charlie started the engine.

"Wait," exclaimed Joey. "The surf board. We'll need it to carry her from the car park."

Charlie's shoulders slumped forward and her face dropped. She knew Joey was right, but her car didn't have any more room for anything else. As soon as she glanced in her rear-view mirror, she saw the rack on top of Hugo's car. _Perfect_! She got out and rushed over to him, explaining what she needed him to do. Hugo fetched the surf board and slid it onto the rack, securing it with a couple of small pieces of rope. Now they were ready to leave.

"So you've figured out the best route, right?" asked Charlie optimistically.

"Yeah ... I think so. But it's anyone's guess, really. I just hope we don't meet up with any more soldiers. If we stick to the back roads I think we'll be okay. "

"We'll follow you," said Charlie.

Hugo nodded and smiled weakly. He wasn't looking forward to the drive ahead.

The sound of a car door opening made them both turn around. Watson had got out of the car and had moved to the rear, searching the bag she had brought from Yabbie Creek Police Station. Moments later she came forward, holding out something for Charlie. A walkie talkie.

"Here ... take this. We can stay in contact. I'll be on channel 7."

"My favourite number," said Charlie with a smile as she took it from her.

--------x--------

As they travelled along the smaller roads to Northern District Hospital, Charlie was glad that they did not have to revisit the scenes of destruction that she, Joey, Watson and Rachel had witnessed the day before along the main roads. The others had been almost blissfully unaware of the fates that had befallen the townspeople of Summer Bay and the surrounding areas, and Charlie was especially glad that Ruby had not seen some of the things she had seen. She wanted to protect her younger sister from the horrors as best she could. However, she was convinced that the hospital would be the scene of bloody aftermath after bloody aftermath. She dreaded what they might find there.

Looking up ahead, Hugo noticed a figure in the distance. It appeared to be a person, walking along the road – and they were walking in the same direction as they were travelling. As they neared, he took the walkie talkie from Watson and glanced down at the buttons trying to figure out how to operate it. He pressed a green button, hoping that it was the right one.

"Charlie ... can you hear me?"

"_[...] Loud and clear [...]_," came the reply.

"Can you see that? About two hundred feet ahead. It looks like a woman."

"_[...] Yeah ... I see her. She looks familiar [...]_."

Hugo heaved a sigh of sadness. "That's what I was afraid you'd say." He glanced in his rear-view mirror at Alf sitting in the back seat, dreading the thought of breaking the news to him. He picked up the walkie talkie again.

"Charlie ... we need to pull over for a few minutes." He moved the car to the side of the road and stopped. Charlie pulled in behind him and waited.

Hugo turned around to face Alf. As soon as the older man saw the look on his face, he began to panic.

"What's wrong, mate?"

Hugo gathered the courage to speak. "I think there's an infected up ahead," he said. "And I think it's ... Colleen."

Alf's mouth fell open. He leaned forward to peer out of the window, seeing the woman in the long flowery dress walking slowly towards the end of the road.

"Noooooo. It can't be," he cried. "I spoke to her yesterday. She said she was fine. I called her as soon as I knew about the virus and told her to stay indoors. Silly bloody woman! Look what she's done to herself!"

Alf began to sob. Rachel, who was sitting beside him, put her arm around him.

"I'm so sorry," said Hugo.

"We'll find a cure," said Rachel, trying her best to reassure him.

No-one else knew what to say.

"I'm sorry Alf," said Hugo again, "but we need to move on. I promise that as soon as we get to the hospital ... I'll come back and find her."

Alf lowered his head and nodded. He could not find any words.

Hugo picked up the walkie talkie again. "Charlie ... that's Colleen up ahead. I need you guys to just drive past her, okay? We'll come back for her as soon as we drop everyone else off."

The was silence. Then the walkie talkie came to life again. "[...] _Okay. Is Alf alright_? [...]"

"Uhh ... yeah ... he's okay."

Hugo started the car and moved forward and closer to Colleen. As they neared her, they could see that her skin was mostly covered in lesions, but some areas remained normal. There was no blood visible on her body or clothes, but her pretty dress was dusty from walking along the side of the road. She did not look at them, nor did she even seem to be aware that they were close. She seemed to be very sad.

"Everyone look straight ahead," said Hugo. It was not so much an order as a piece of advice especially intended for Alf. He didn't need to see his sister looking like that.

As soon as Charlie had noticed Hugo's car move off, she did likewise.

"Where do you think she's going?" asked Joey, looking out her side window as they passed her by.

Charlie could not think of an answer, and neither could anyone else.

Leah's eyes were transfixed on her colleague. She always had a fondness for Colleen, even though sometimes she could be an old busybody at times, telling her what she should and shouldn't do. It pained her to see the woman in such a bad way.

Both cars passed her on the road very slowly. Alf closed his eyes, trying to push out the horrible images that his mind had conjured up of his sister and what she must have gone through.

--------x--------

Hugo's car turned the last corner that led them to the hospital car park, followed closely by Charlie. As soon as the occupants of both cars saw the scene that greeted them, every jaw dropped.

The sight before them was spine-chilling. Hundreds of infected people wandered aimlessly around the grounds of Northern District Hospital. Their presence completely blocked the entrance. None of the survivors could even see the rotating doors ahead.

Charlie raised the walkie talkie to her mouth, pressed the green button and slowly uttered two words that described everyone's feelings right at that moment:

"OH SHIT!"

To be continued ...


	18. Chapter 18

Hi folks – Okay ... I know it's been ages since I've posted, but I promise you (with hand on heart) that I worked on this chapter as often as I could. I've had a lot going on these past few days, and this part of the story was extremely hard to write. Sorry for the delay. I hope I've made it up to you with this nice big chapter – FCBC x

VERY STRANGE THINGS

**Chapter 18**

Charlie and Hugo's cars halted at the very top of the long road which led down to the main entrance of the hospital. All of the survivors sat motionless, staring downhill in awe at the huge crowd of infected human beings before them. A sense of dread began to rise within every one of them.

The silence was broken by a voice coming through Charlie's walkie talkie. It belonged to Watson.

"It looks like ALL of Summer Bay are down there, Charlie ... AND Yabbie Creek ... AND Magrove River ... AND Reefton Lakes ... AND god knows where else. What are they all doing here?"

Silence dominated the airwaves again for several seconds before Joey realised the answer, her eyes lighting up at the revelation. She took the walkie talkie from Charlie and pressed the green button so everyone could hear her:

"It makes perfect sense ... we just didn't realise it," she said, turning to look at Charlie as she spoke. "We know that the infected still remember some things about their lives ... from before they were infected. My guess is that they _know_ they're sick. They can sense that much ... and their instincts have led them here. They just don't know what to do next."

"And neither do we," Ruby grumbled gloomily.

Charlie grinned at her girlfriend, impressed by her reasoning skills. Joey's explanation did make a lot of sense to her. She leaned closer to the front windscreen to get a better view of the masses in the distance. "Well ... they're certainly a lot cleverer than the nasty creatures from all those zombie movies you made me watch with you, Rubes," she mused. "Finding their way to a hospital definitely makes more sense than finding their way to a shopping mall. I mean .... it's not like they could find a cure at Starbucks or Myer!"

Northern District Hospital had been built back in 1988 on a natural beauty spot. At the time it was decided that in order to preserve the beauty and integrity of the area, thirty acres of land surrounding the main building would be transformed into many beautifully kept gardens with native wildflowers and shrubs. Until earlier that day, those gardens had remained in pristine condition, but within a matter of hours most of the pink, yellow, blue and red flowers lay trampled under the feet of the infected as they roamed the grounds. Some were barefoot and still in their pyjamas. Some were fully clothed, and some looked as if they were wearing red trousers, but were in fact naked from the waist down. Others were naked from the waist up. Rohella had managed to rob them of their dignity as well as everything else it had so cruelly taken from them.

Charlie's eyes darted from one infected to the other, and she tried to stay calm - but the more infected she saw, the more her panic swelled. She moved towards the microphone of the walkie talkie in Joey's hand so she could address the others. Joey pressed the button for her.

"What do we do now? Hugo ... is there a Plan B?"

"No," he replied. "We only got as far as Plan A. In fact ... I'm surprised _this_ one has even managed to get us so close to the hospital!"

"There can't be a plan B, Charlie," said Rachel, stressing her point very strongly. "If we can't get in there somehow ... we don't have any chance of finding a cure. I need that equipment if I'm going to be able to extract the antibodies."

"Well we need to think of something quickly before they swarm on us," said Charlie.

The others hadn't even considered that possibility and the idea was very unnerving, making them squirm in their seats. Charlie was always the first one to realise the potential dangers ahead.

Watson thought for a few moments, then spoke into the walkie talkie. "We have two options ... as far as I can see. We can either blast our way through the front door ... taking down any of them that get in our way ... which isn't such a great idea. We want to help them ... not hurt them. Or ... we can try to find another entrance."

Charlie liked that idea better. "Rachel ... do you know if there are any other ways to get in to this place?"

"There are two doors at the rear of the building ... one staff entrance ... and one where we take deliveries of medical supplies. We could try those."

The news gave them all some hope.

"Alright, Hugo ... follow me," said Charlie. "I'm going try and stay to the outskirts of these grounds as we move around to the back. We need to stay as covert as possible. If you start to feel like you're drawing their attention to you ... cut your engine and stay absolutely still ... all of you."

Watson laughed aloud. She spoke into the walkie talkie. "The next thing we know ... you'll be saying "_Their vision is based on movement._" They're not T-Rex's, Charlie!"

Charlie's sudden annoyance at her junior colleague was audible in her voice. "Yes ... I am _aware_ of that, Constable Watson," she retorted, "but Joey and I have seen first hand that when we stay still ... the infected do too."

It didn't deter Watson one bit. With her best Sam Neill impersonation, she responded with: "Mr Hammond ... after careful consideration I've decided _not_ to endorse your park."

Charlie's irritation rose as she heard several voices coming through the walkie talkie speaker – and they were giggling like school children. She turned around to look at the others in her car, who were all doing the same, but silently. Finally she gave in and smiled. Watson had helped lighten the sombre mood in both vehicles – and they needed it.

Their fun was interrupted by the soon-to-be 'Baby Armstrong,' who kicked Rachel with such force that she cried out in agony.

Alf turned to her. "Are you alright, love?"

Rachel nodded but was in too much pain to speak. She gripped Alf's hand and squeezed it. His teeth gritted as he felt his fingers crack. _Bloody hell ... she's a lot stronger than she looks_, he thought.

Watson pressed the green button again. "We need to move, Charlie. We need to get Rachel inside."

"Okay. Let's go," came the reply.

Charlie led the way along the outer road used mainly by delivery drivers during the day. No infected were using it, so they could keep a low profile. They had almost reached a corner of the road which would allow them to get a clear view of the rear of the hospital. Charlie drove slowly forward. The sight that met them was exactly what they did _not_ want to see. More infected. Many more. Probably as many stood outside the two rear entrances as were gathered around the main front doors.

A large white van was visible at the delivery entrance with it's rear doors wide open. More than one pair of legs protruded from the back and they were kicking violently. Were they biters? Or were they immune and fighting for their lives against the hungry and any other infecteds who felt compelled to harm their fellow human being. It definitely looked as though biters were inside, and they weren't eating hospital dinners. The sign on the van said 'Hadley's Hope Catering.'

_Catering_? If the irony of the sign hadn't suggested something so horrifying, some of them may even have found it in themselves to laugh.

Hugo's voice came across the airwaves. "Plan C, anyone?" he asked with pretend joviality.

Charlie hung her head low and sighed loudly. They were running out of time - and options.

Leah leaned forward to look more closely at the mass of people pacing around. "Do you think there are any biters among them out there?"

Joey stared at them too, her eyes searching for signs of hungry infecteds. She'd noticed that the biters seemed to have much more energy than the others and should be easy to spot, but she could not see any amongst the walkers. "I don't know," she replied.

"Why don't the hungry ones bite _each other_?" asked Leah. She had been wondering about that for a while.

Charlie turned around to look at her. "Well ... just look at their skin, for a start. Would _you_ want to bite it?"

Leah smiled and shook her head. Charlie had a very good point, she thought. With their diminished thinking capabilities, the biters probably associate normal skin with something attractive. Couple that with their insatiable hunger, and it becomes a recipe for disaster, meaning those with immunity would became likely targets.

Something visible through the rear window caught Charlie's attention. Her face froze as an idea formed in her head. It wasn't an ideal plan – but it was the only relatively safe one that she could think of.

She turned back to face Joey. "I have an idea ... but you're probably not going to like it all that much."

"What is it?" asked Joey, her eyes wide in anticipation.

Charlie pointed to the rear window. "Look behind us. Do you see what's out there in the middle of the road?"

Joey looked, but didn't notice what Charlie had managed to spot. She turned back to look at her and frowned.

Charlie began to explain. "It's a manhole cover ... which means it leads to the sewers. It's our only way in."

Joey smiled, glad to hear one idea that didn't involve fraternising with infected people, but she also couldn't help uttering the one word on her mind. "Yuck!"

Ruby leaned forward to speak. "Uhh Charlie ... I don't mean to be a party pooper or anything ... but how are we going to get whatshername down there? Zara. And Rachel? That manhole doesn't look very big."

"It'll be wide enough," she replied. "I've seen the size of some of the workmen that can fit down those things and believe me ... they look like they're carrying twins ... and they've got huge man boobs. Rachel will fit ... trust me."

Joey lifted the walkie talkie and pressed the green button. "Guys ... new plan."

"Great!" enthused Hugo. "What is it?"

"Ehh ... well it's not so much a plan as a last resort. We can use the sewers. There's a manhole behind us."

The line went silent. Joey looked at Charlie and smirked. "They're probably fighting over who gets to go down first."

Charlie smiled back in amusement. A voice echoed from the walkie talkie:

"Charlie, love ... it's Alf. I have a suggestion. If we move the cars ... one either side of the manhole ... we can stay better hidden from all those ugly buggers down there."

Charlie hadn't thought of that one. "Great idea, Alf. Hugo ... you take the left side ... I'll go right. As soon as you're in position ... get everyone out of the car and move between the two."

They did as planned. Hugo switched off the engine and put the keys in his pocket. He turned around to look at Rachel. The look of shock on her face worried him. "What's wrong?"

Rachel dreaded breaking the news to him. Finally she said, "I think my waters have broken."

Hugo hurried outside to help her. He tried his best to push feelings of annoyance out of his mind, and felt a little guilty about the thoughts crowding his head. Not only had his beloved car been riddled with bullet holes today, it would now need a trip to the valeting company – and the staff were probably all dead by now – or infected!

Watson and Charlie opened the manhole cover. Watson took her torch from her utility belt and shone it down into the darkness, hoping that she would not see any infected people down there. It was clear. A series of metal rungs protruding from the wall provided the means to get down, and it seemed to be quite a long way to the bottom.

"I'll go first," said Watson. "The rest of you follow me."

James moved right behind her. He didn't want to stay up there with so many infected people any longer.

Joey placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Do you think you will be okay to climb down?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah ... I'll manage it. Don't worry." Another sharp pain made her grit her teeth, but she remained silent.

"Wait ... wait," said Bill as soon as he looked inside. "How do we get that Snyder woman down there?"

Watson thought for a few moments. "We could always drop her on her head again. One more bump won't do any more harm. The damage is already done."

"HEY ... that's my girlfriend you're talking about," screeched James defensively. There was anger in his voice.

Watson was a little taken aback. "Wow, James .... congratulations. Looks like you've finally grown a pair after all. I may be starting to like you," she said with a wink.

Very few women had ever said those words to James Darwin, and it made him warm a little, despite having been insulted moments before.

"Hugo ... can you grab the surf board and some ropes," said Charlie. "We can lower her down."

Hugo disappeared behind his car, returning swiftly with the things they needed. He handed the ropes to Charlie, who began to unfurl them. She turned to Joey standing beside her.

"You ready for those weight lifting exercises you wanted?" she asked with a wry smile.

Joey giggled, knowing exactly what Charlie wanted from her. She moved to the back of Charlie's car and opened the hatch. Zara lay motionless in the back with the tube still firmly fixed in her mouth. Joey extended her hand and held it in front of the tube to make sure that Zara was still alive. She felt warm breath on her fingertips. Quickly she moved her hand away again, not wanting to take any chances.

"How far down is the drop," Charlie asked Watson.

Watson shone the light down again. "Uhh ... I'd say it's about twenty feet."

"Alright ... you and Hugo go down first," replied Charlie. "We'll lower the bags down. We need to move fast."

She turned to address the others. "The rest of you keep watch around you. Don't move unless you have to."

Joey lifted Rachel's medical bag containing her notes and set it beside the manhole. She noticed something inside and took it out.

"Can I make a suggestion?" she said quietly.

Everyone looked at her. "I think that we should all use a little of this before we go down," she said, holding up a small tub of Vicks Vaporub.

"Why?" asked Ruby. "Are you worried about catching a cold or something?"

Joey grinned at her, tickled by her innocence.

"No, Rubes ... it's not going to smell very nice down there," Joey replied. "Let me show you what I mean."

With those words she unscrewed the cap, dipped her finger inside and rubbed a little just below her nose. "I saw them do this in Silence of The Lambs when they were at the morgue. They used it to cover the smell when they were examining a dead body. Never realised how useful it would be one day."

The rest of the survivors looked on in amusement as Joey showed them her new Vicks 'toothbrush-style' moustache, once made famous by early twentieth century comedian Oliver Hardy, one half of Laurel & Hardy, and later made equally infamous by Adolf Hitler. Joey reached the tub to Leah who was stood beside her.

"There's no way I'm putting that stuff on me," she protested.

"Well," began Joey, "when you're down there complaining about the smell of crap in your nostrils ... don't say I didn't warn you."

Leah mulled Joey's words over for a few moments before giving in and extending her hand towards her. Joey gave her the tub. As soon as she had applied it she put some on VJ, then gave the tub to the next person, who passed it on as soon as they had finished.

Charlie was the last person to use it. She took the tub from James. Joey watched her with a wide grin on her face, eagerly waiting to see what she would look like. Her mind raced trying to think of ways to tease her. Charlie caught her stare and blushed, then looked away, trying desperately not to laugh. As soon as she rubbed a little under her nose she replaced the lid, avoiding all eye contact with Joey. She could feel her eyes on her and knew that a joke was going to be coming her way any second.

At last their eyes met. Joey's grin was wider than ever and her shoulders shuddered as she tried to contain her laughter.

Charlie tried not to smile but couldn't. "Okay okay ... just say it! Just get it out of your system," she pleaded.

Joey prepared herself to speak. She pointed at Charlie's moustache and said: "Charlie Chaplin."

Charlie gave her a stern look, accompanied by a smirk.

"I don't even know if this stuff works, Charlie," Joey giggled. "I just wanted to see if you'd do it!"

"It had better work!" warned Charlie in much the same playful tone.

"Guys ... can we move please?" interrupted Watson.

They both nodded. Watson and Hugo descended quickly. Charlie took the first bag, tied the rope around it and lowered it down to them. As she did, Joey took another rope and tied it to the next bag. The others kept watch around them. No infected seemed to be too near to them. As soon as all the bags had been lowered, Bill descended next, followed by Alf. James, Ruby, Leah, VJ and Ripley went next. VJ cradled the kitty all the way down, her nails digging deep into his skin. She didn't like the unfamiliarity of entering such a dark and smelly place. Rachel followed them. Hugo climbed up part of the way to assist her as she descended. Only Zara, Joey and Charlie remained at ground level.

"Charlie ... send the surf board down first," shouted Hugo, his voice echoing inside the tunnels. "Christ ... it stinks worse than a dead dogs donger down here," he moaned.

Everyone around him turned their noses up at the description. None of them needed any more reminding of what the place smelled like, and now they had a nasty mental image forced upon their minds as well.

Charlie and Joey tied the surf board with rope and lowered it. As soon as it was down, Hugo freed the rope again.

"Okay ... let's get spider chick ready to go," said Charlie. "Hope that sedative is strong enough."

"Me too," said Joey with a worried look on her face. She didn't want another wrestling match with Zara Snyder – ever again.

They moved to the rear of the car. Joey took Zara's upper body, and Charlie took her legs. One good heave removed her from the boot of Charlie's car. They managed to avoid giving her another bump this time.

As soon as they reached the manhole they set her down. Charlie tied the rope around her upper body, beneath her arms, then secured it. They turned her around so that her feet dangled over the edge, then began to lower her slowly, holding the rope tight and looking as if they were in some kind of weird tug-of-war competition.

"Hugo ... shout when you've got her," yelled Charlie.

They held on to the rope tightly, working together to lower the infected woman as gently and safely as possible. Charlie's palms were beginning to ache from small friction burns caused by the movement of the rope fibres. Joey was so used to working with ropes that she barely felt anything. As soon as Zara reached the bottom, Hugo grabbed her and shouted as requested. The rope gave way a little, making Charlie and Joey bump together, causing a collision of heads and making them fall backwards onto their behinds, Charlie on top of Joey's lap.

"Owwww," they cried in unison.

Joey's backside ached.

Charlie turned her head to look at her girlfriend. "Y'know ... if you wanted me to sit on your knee, Joey .. all you had to do was ask nicely."

Joey wrapped her arms around Charlie's waist and kissed the back of her neck gently. "I'll keep that in mind," she whispered.

Charlie sighed, relishing the feel of her lover's lips against her bare skin. A distinct hissing noise coming from afar jerked them from their moment of fun. They stood up quickly and looked around to make sure that the infected were still keeping their distance.

"We'd better get down there," said Joey.

Charlie moved to the back of her car and closed the rear hatch. Then she locked the car, the indicator lights flashing several times.

--------x--------

In the distance, the head of an infected woman turned towards them, blood all around her mouth. She had heard the hatch slam shut, and then had noticed the flashing lights. Two figures moved near to where the lights had illuminated, and their skin looked very appealing. The infected woman began to walk uphill towards them, slowly at first, but she soon quickened her pace to a very fast run. Her excitement grew as she neared them. Bloodied saliva dripped from her mouth.

--------x--------

"You first," said Charlie. "I'll need to replace the cover above our heads."

Joey began her descent, making sure her rifle was firmly strapped over her shoulder. Charlie moved closer and knelt beside her, sliding the manhole cover closer to the hole with her foot. Joey was about to disappear below when she noticed movement behind Charlie. Someone was coming towards them – fast. Before she had the chance to warn Charlie, she grabbed her weapon and aimed it. Her sudden movement startled Charlie and she screamed, falling backwards. Joey fired several shots, hitting the infected woman on the legs. She growled then fell awkwardly, landing a few feet from Charlie's head. Charlie yelled again and scrambled away from her as fast as she could. The infected woman clawed at the ground trying to pull herself closer, but she couldn't. Her frustration grew and she hissed at them. Both Charlie and Joey's ears ached from the noise of the gunfire, and from their own thumping hearts.

"Nice shootin'," commended Charlie, sounding as if she were out of breath.

"She asked for it," replied Joey, staring back at the woman in abhorrence. "Nobody is allowed to bite you except me!"

Charlie grinned at her. She loved Joey's protectiveness of her.

Joey glanced underneath the cars towards the hospital ground. She saw more infected running towards them, alerted to their presence by the gunshots.

"OH SHIT HURRY CHARLIE," she yelled. "THEY'RE COMING!"

Charlie rushed towards the manhole. Joey descended faster to allow her access. Charlie's feet made contact with the first few rungs and she began to climb down as fast as she could. The infected were gaining on them quickly. As soon as she was far enough down, Charlie struggled to slide the cover over the hole. She could see the eyes of the infected just a few metres away from her. The cover was heavy and difficult to move. Several pairs of hands desperately reached for her at once. One managed to grab the side of the metal cover and pull it. Charlie fought to keep it, hearing the yells and screams of her friends below. She made a fist and punched at the swollen fingers. The infected released their grip, allowing Charlie to slide the cover all the way over, blocking out all attackers – and all sunlight. She climbed the rest of the way down in total darkness.

As soon as she reached the bottom, Watson had found her torch again and switched it on to give them some guiding light. They looked around at the dank, stinky walls surrounding them. They were ankle-high in brown-coloured, stagnant water. The smell was horrendous, but the Vicks helped mask the stench, even if only a little.

"Which way do we go now?" asked Ruby.

"Well .. the hospital is _that_ way," said Watson, pointing with the barrels of shotgun Annie towards a tunnel up ahead of them.

"That's good enough for me," said Hugo. He and James had placed Zara on the surf board. They lifted her and moved ahead of the rest.

Watson shined the light ahead of them. Everyone else followed quickly and silently. The tunnels created very loud echoes, and nobody wanted to draw any extra attention than was necessary. Even though they were safe from the infected, they now worried more about the possibility of meeting a very different virus-carrying creature – the rat.

--------x--------

As they moved along the sewer tunnels, large elongated dark-coloured debris floated in the water.

"This place is yuck," said VJ. Ripley continued to cling to him as if her nine lives depended on it.

"Keep moving everyone," said Charlie. "It can't be far now."

They turned a sharp corner and were quickly greeted by a brand new problem. The tunnel ahead split into three separate tunnels. They looked the same, and all seemed to lead to nowhere in particular.

"Oh great!" groaned Watson. "Why does everything we do have to become so bloody complicated? Anyone got any suggestions?"

"I recommend the EMMM approach," said Joey. "It works for me all the time."

"And what is that, exactly?" asked Leah. She was curious.

Joey turned towards the tunnels and pointed her index finger towards them. "E-M-M-M ... Eenie ... Meenie ... Miney ... Mo!"

Charlie giggled at her girlfriend's simplistic approach. She liked it.

"All these tunnels must lead to some part of the hospital," said Bill. "So go ahead, Joey love. We trust you."

Joey started the rhyme. The others watched her. It reminded them of their own childhood and they found it entertaining and almost comforting. If only all adult problems could be solved by rhymes. Joey's index finger finally ended up pointing towards the middle tunnel.

"Straight ahead," she declared, and set off ahead of the rest. They all followed her. Less than fifty metres ahead, they reached another shaft leading upwards with a similar set of metal rungs. Joey was the first to arrive, and she looked up at the manhole cover above.

Moments later she was surrounded by her fellow survivors.

"Okay ... I think a guy should go up first this time," said Leah.

"Good idea," agreed Joey. She didn't necessarily agree, but wanted to go along with the idea just to test their bravery. She turned to look at Hugo, Alf, Bill and James. "Okay gentlemen ... we know you've got nuts .. but have you got any guts? Who's going up first?"

Joey could see Charlie grinning at the back of the group. She tried her best to keep a straight face herself.

Alf looked at Hugo. Hugo looked at Bill. Bill looked at James. James looked down at the ground below him, spotting something nasty floating near his shoe. He shrieked and stepped backwards.

"Oh for god sakes!" cried Watson. "I'LL GO!"

She gave her torch to Joey, began her ascent of the shaft, climbing the steps carefully with the shotgun in one hand. As she neared the top she slowed and readied Annie. Very carefully, she pushed one side of the cover up with the muzzle of the shotgun. As soon as she had done so, light from above shone on her face and on the survivors below. She peered through the gap and looked around, then allowed it to close again sharply. Quickly she climbed down again to address the others.

Joey shone the torch on her. They immediately saw the fearful look on her face.

"Watson?" said Charlie. "What is it? What did you see up there?"

"It's the A&E department," she said.

Charlie had never seen her colleague so taken aback before. "And?" she asked, pressing her for more information.

Watson looked her in the eye. "And ... we need to try one of the other tunnels."

Their hearts sank.

To be continued ...


	19. Chapter 19

Hi everyone - Okay ... I think this chapter is ready to post. Well ... I hope it is! I apologise in advance if you happen to find some spelling mistakes or strange incoherent bits, but I wanted to finish it when I got home tonight and get it posted so that I can't be found guilty of neglecting you guys for too long ;-) Thank you for continuing to follow the story. And thanks again for your very kind and very funny reviews.

So here it is. Hope you enjoy it. FCBC xxxx

VERY STRANGE THINGS

**Chapter 19**

"Try another tunnel? Why?" asked Ruby. "What did you see, Watson? Are there people up there?"

Watson took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She could barely find the words to describe it. "It's bad, honey. You don't really want to know any more than that ... trust me."

"So what do we do now?" asked Hugo. "When we go back to the end of this tunnel ... do we go left or do we go right?"

Charlie moved beside Rachel and placed her hand on her shoulder. "You know this place better than all of us, Rach," she said softly. "Which of the other two tunnels is more likely to lead us closer to the maternity ward?"

Rachel closed her eyes and concentrated her thoughts. She envisioned a blueprint of the hospital in her head as she tried to figure out which direction to take them. The rest of the survivors were depending on her to make the right decision, and she was depending on them to get her to to the baby unit before she was forced to give birth right there in the sewer – the most unhygienic place in town. Another cutting pain coursed through her body, making her involuntarily reach out and grab the nearest arm to her and squeeze it. It belonged to James. At first he thought it was an infected, and he yelped in fright. Then his yelp turned into a girlish scream as Rachel's strong fingers pinched his puny bicep.

As soon as Rachel had regained her composure she opened her eyes again and spoke: "Straight ahead and left." She was sure it was the right way.

The group moved forward quickly. Watson walked at the rear, still deeply traumatised by what she had just seen above her. She hoped that the rest of the hospital had not succumbed to such a horrifying invasion.

Charlie held back until the others had moved forward, then stopped her colleague to speak to her.

"Are you alright?"

Watson looked at her with the most solemn expression Charlie had ever seen on her face. "I'm scared, Charlie."

The conversation ended right there. Charlie didn't want to ask any more about it. Watson was a brave and level-headed member of her team at Yabbie Creek Police Station and didn't frighten easily. However, knowing that she was afraid began to fill Charlie with just as much fear. She put her hand gently against Watson's back and guided her forward.

--------x--------

As soon as they had returned to the junction, they made a left turn into the new tunnel. The putrid water was deeper than any of the previous tunnels and it reached just below their knees. After a few minutes of careful treading, they entered the end section. Up ahead, daylight shone down. Joey had led them most of the way with Watson's torch in one hand and her rifle in the other - poised and ready. It made her feel a lot safer to hold it like that. As soon as she saw the light shining down she raised her hand, gesturing for them to stop moving, then swung round to find Charlie.

"The cover ... it's open already," she said with great concern.

Charlie moved through the crowd to be beside her. She took the flashlight from Joey and shone it up ahead into the water stream. A figure could be seen, half lying in the water, and half on the concrete block beside.

"Someone's up there," she said in a low voice so as not to panic the others.

Joey's eyes widened. "Are they alive?"

"I can't tell." She turned around to face the others. "Okay ... all of you ... stay here. Joey and I will check out what's ahead of us. We'll let you know when it's safe to come forward."

They acknowledged with a nod.

Charlie turned around again and began to move forward with Joey by her side. Stinking water dripped from the ceiling above their heads and splashed in front of them. Both felt cold and slimy droplets hitting the top and back of their heads. As they slowly approached the figure, they could see that she was a woman, and that she was wearing a uniform. It was a white doctors coat, but was marred with red and brown stains. On closer inspection, they could tell by the marks behind her ears that she was immune. A large bite mark on her left arm could be seen under the sleeve of her coat. Part of her flesh was missing and very distinct teeth marks remained visible.

"Is she d-dead?" stammered Joey. She swallowed hard, feeling a large lump in her throat.

Charlie knelt down and searched her neck for a pulse. She pressed her fingers against her carotid artery and to her surprise she found a very weak, but very definite rhythm. Then she placed her hand in front of the woman's mouth and nose and could feel warm breath on her fingers.

"She's still alive," she sighed in relief.

Standing up quickly, she turned to the others. "Guys ... there's a doctor over here ... and she's injured. Hurry ... we need to help her."

Rachel rushed forward, then froze at the sight of the woman lying in front of her. Was it one of her colleagues? "Turn her over," she said.

Charlie did as requested. Joey shone the torch on the woman's face so that Rachel could see her better.

She shook her head. "I don't recognise her."

Joey noticed an identity badge pinned to her coat. She knelt down and unpinned it. Shining the torch on it, she was able to read the details easily.

"Hey ... she works for the CDC," she exclaimed.

"What's her name?" asked Rachel.

Joey adjusted her focus to read the small print. "It's ... Dr. A. Ryan-Kwanten. Hmmm ... Ryan-Kwanten must be her married name ... I guess. She must have kept her maiden name. It's nice ... but a bit of a mouthful. What's she doing here at Northern District?"

Rachel studied her face. "I don't know ... but we can ask her when she wakes up. We need to get her conscious ... and well again. If she works for the Centre for Disease Control then she's probably a virologist. We desperately need her help, guys."

"I thought you said that _you_ knew what to do," challenged James.

Rachel stared at him with narrowed eyes. She wasn't one to be easily upset, but James Darwin had annoyed her once too often today. "Yes ... I do," she retorted. "But I'm about to give birth ... in case you hadn't noticed," she said pointing down at her large bump.

James decided to keep his mouth shut and only speak when spoken to – or when he needed directions to the men's toilets.

Charlie stood up and moved to the bottom of the ladder. She turned to look at the others. "I'll check up there," she said, pointing towards the room above her.

Joey's face was suddenly full of worry. "Be careful, Charlie!"

Charlie smiled at her – a silent but very sweet promise to do as Joey asked. She looked up at the rungs and began to ascend slowly. Joey watched her intently all the way up, readying her rifle for whatever might be up there. She was afraid. If something grabbed Charlie – would she be a sharp enough shot to put a bullet in it and not her girlfriend? She had never had any real training or shooting practice! Holding her breath, she watched with butterflies in her tummy.

Charlie paused near the top - inches from the mouth of the manhole. She stretched herself to peer inside the room above her. As she did, she noticed her breath turning frosty. The room was quite cold, even though the weather outside had been very good for several days. It looked like some kind of storage facility, but not for hospital supplies. She wasn't really sure what it was used for, but it seemed to be free from infected. Before she allowed herself to climb any higher, she completed a 360 degree check around the room. It was almost empty, and there were no blood stains on the walls and no signs of struggle - an unusual sight in the past few days of pandemonium. She climbed out and stood up. In the full light she looked down at her clothing, then wished she hadn't. The sewerage had not been kind to her outfit. Brown and black sludge hung from her shoes, and the lower half of her blue jeans were soaked with just as much sludge hanging from them. _Eww_ ... g_ross_, she thought.

A single door was the only entrance or exit to the room, and a key hung from the lock. Charlie stepped slowly towards it and turned it clockwise as quietly as possible, making sure it was locked. It had already been secured, and Charlie began to compose a mental picture of what had happened to the doctor below.

She moved back to the manhole and shouted to the others. "It's clear. Come on up. The area is secure."

Sighs of relief were heard all around. Joey helped Rachel move over to the rungs so that she could climb up first. She managed to ascend with ease, despite her contractions - which were getting closer and closer together. Leah followed, with VJ and Ripley in front of her. Bill was next, and then James. Alf climbed next, and was followed by the surf board he was trailing behind him on a rope. He set it in the corner of the room, then lowered the rope again to Hugo.

Joey turned to look at Watson, who was still in distress. She gently placed her hand on Watson's arm.

"Go on up. We'll handle this," she said softly.

Watson smiled at her weakly and began to climb. Joey and Hugo tied the rope around the doctor's chest and shouted to the others to pull. Charlie and Bill hoisted her to the safety of the room above, then untied the rope again and dropped it down. Rachel and Watson worked to put her in the recovery position, and check her for other injuries. Then they bandaged the bite mark on her arm to stem the flow of blood which was still seeping from the wound.

Zara was the last one to be lifted and Joey and Hugo tied the rope around her as quickly as they could – mindful that she could awaken at any time and begin her search for her next snack. Charlie and Bill pulled her upwards and into the room. As soon as she was inside, they checked her restraints to make sure they were still tied tightly.

Joey and Hugo repeated the procedure with their baggage, then climbed the rungs to join the others.

Charlie quickly slid the manhole cover back in place. She had a use for the room they were now taking refuge in. As soon as she stood up, she addressed the others:

"Okay everyone ... we need a plan."

"Aww bloody hell," exclaimed Hugo, looking down at himself. "My shoes are all covered in shitty .. crappy .. shitty stuff."

"Join the club," said Alf, showing him his own brown sludgy mess.

"I think it's fair to say we all look like crap right now," said Ruby. "Literally!"

Charlie turned to look at Rachel. "Do you know where we are?"

"Yes. I recognise this room. This is the rear storage room of the hospital morgue."

"Well ... that would explain why my nuts are shrinking faster than a slug in a salt mine," said Hugo, rubbing his hands to stay warm. He was never afraid of a little self-deprecation in the name of humour.

"I didn't know you had any," smirked Watson, unable to resist. She was starting to feel like her old self again now that they were in the safety of a locked room.

Hugo gave her a disapproving look. "Ehh ... I think you might be confusing me with ... ehh ..." He purposely didn't finish his sentence, discretely pointing instead in the direction of James Darwin. It made Watson laugh.

"Guys!" said Charlie impatiently, her voice raised. "We need to focus here."

Hugo and Watson forced themselves to stay quiet, feeling as though they had just been chastised by their primary school teacher.

"How far to the maternity ward?" continued Charlie.

"It's just two wards down the corridor to the left," replied Rachel.

"Okay ... gather your things everyone," said Charlie. "And be prepared for what you might see out there." She turned her attention to Watson, remembering how traumatised she had been by what she had seen in the A&E department. "And I want everyone to stay away from the emergency ward. Don't be going down there ... is that clear?"

A resounding 'yes' came from many voices.

"Okay lets go ... Joey ... Watson ... you two come up front with me. We'll lead the way. Zara can stay in here in the meantime. At least we know this room is secur-."

"Wait a second," interrupted James. "We're not leaving her HERE. NO WAY! She'll freeze!"

Charlie glared at him. "She'll be fine. It's cold in here ... so it will keep her docile. You're more than welcome to stay with her," she smirked, before quickly changing her mind. "No ... on second thoughts ... you're coming with us ... just in case you have any more bright ideas ... like trying to kiss her again!"

"You tried to kiss her?" asked Hugo disbelievingly. The idea was very amusing to him.

"Yup," teased Watson. "And not just a peck on the lips. A full on pash!"

"I-I didn't try to kiss her," protested James. "I just wanted to-to-to-"

"Taste the giant spider she'd just eaten?" asked Charlie sarcastically. "Tell me ... was _that_ the thing that made you look at her and think to yourself ... '_Wow she's all better now!_'?"

Joey giggled.

"Look, James," began Charlie, "she'll be okay in here until we're ready for her. We'll find some blankets to put over her. If we find a better place to keep her ...then we can move her. But for now this is where she's going to stay. END OF STORY!"

James knew better than to argue a second time. Charlie moved to the door. Joey and Watson stood beside her and readied their weapons. She turned the key to unlock it, then took it out and opened the door slowly. Peering into the room ahead, the three of them were greeted with a horrendous sight. All six mortuary slabs were occupied by deceased infecteds. Three were wearing hospital gowns, whilst the others were dressed in hospital staff uniforms – two nurses and a doctor. They looked as if they had bled to death very quickly. Charlie turned back to face the others:

"Stay here while we check the room out."

James made a face as soon as she turned away from them again. "She's always barking orders, that one," he moaned very quietly, so that Charlie could not hear. He began to mock her. "Stay here ... don't move ... shut up ... blah blah! She's worse than me mum!"

Ruby was stood right beside him and gave him a swift dig with her elbow.

"Charlie's not the only one who tells you to shut up, James," she said with a look of anger. "Pretty much everyone you meet seems to prefer it if you didn't say anything at all. In fact ... if it were up to me ... I'd lock you in here with your lumpy-headed girlfriend and make the two of you fight the ultimate deathmatch! Would she eat you to death first ... or would you bore her so much that she'd lose the will to live and start cannibalising herself?"

Giggles erupted all around again. Ruby had painted a very horrible, yet very interesting picture for them.

In the main morgue room, Charlie, Joey and Watson edged slowly towards the middle, their eyes darted around looking for other signs of movement. Bloodied autopsy implements lay on the floor. All three gasped in horror when they neared the doctor. An autopsy had been performed on him, and some of the implements used still protruded from his open chest cavity. It was obvious that whoever had performed the procedure had either been attacked, succumbed to the effects of the virus or had to leave in a hurry. The grizzly sight told a very unnerving story – one that surely could not have had a happy ending.

Charlie moved back to the first room where the others waited. "Okay everyone. It's safe ... but it's not a pretty sight in here."

She looked at Leah. "Cover his eyes," she said – pointing discretely to VJ.

Leah nodded and put one hand on her son's shoulder to guide him, and the other across his face so that he would not have to witness the deceased. VJ decided to shield Ripley from the horrors too, and so he placed his hand gently over her eyes. The three of them moved forward, and were followed by the others. Alf and Hugo carried the doctor on the surf board.

Charlie watched as her fellow survivors filed past her. James was last. He turned around to take one more look at his girlfriend, then turned back to leave, glancing briefly at Charlie – the woman who seemed to dislike him the most.

Charlie took one last look at Zara, then exited and closed the door behind her, locking it as soon as she was outside. She turned around to look at the others, who had not moved very far into the room. The sight was worse than anything they had seen since the crisis began and they stood there – awestruck. No-one wanted to venture any further forward. The moisture in their breath turned to fog as they exhaled. The morgue felt almost like being inside a giant freezer.

"Keep moving," said Charlie. "Look dead ahead."

"Bad choice of words there, sis," teased Ruby as the group began to slowly walk towards the far side of the room.

Charlie smiled. "Okay ... look _straight_ ahead, then. Is that a better word?"

"Straight? That's not a word that applies to you, Charlz. Well ... not anymore!" She smirked at her elder sibling.

Charlie giggled. "Y'know ... I'm so glad I rescued you yesterday, Rubes!" she said sarcastically. "How would I have been able to live without you there to torment me every day?"

Ruby blew her a kiss. "I'm only doing my job!"

They reached the middle of the room.

"Jeez ... look at his chest," said James, gawking at the doctor in disgust. "All his insides are hangin' out and he-"

"JAMES!" shouted Charlie in anger. "We all have eyes of our own. Will you just shu-"

"Shut up?" he preempted. "Pfft ... whatever!"

Charlie glared at him. "You are scaring the boy with that talk. So yes ... shut up."

James cursed under his breath – silently. Why was he always the one being told what to do all the time?

Joey and Watson waited at the far door, watching the group as they advanced towards them. Charlie joined them and readied herself to lead the way to the corridor outside. Joey put her ear to the door and listened. She looked at Watson with downturned lips, and shook her head, indicating that she could not hear any noises coming from outside. The large double doors in front of them looked heavy, and it took all three of them to push them open. They moved slowly into the corridor.

For as far as they were able to see, the way ahead was free from people, but remnants of struggle were evident everywhere they looked. Stretchers lay overturned on the ground. Medical supplies were strewn across the floor. Blood stains had dried and darkened on the walls, floor and furniture. It meant that they were not fresh – a good sign maybe, Charlie mused to herself. It meant that no horrors had taken place for at least several hours, possibly even the day before. Could the infected have abandoned the inside of the hospital? She hoped it were true.

They moved further along. Joey glanced inside one room as they passed it. She paused. Through the window, she could see another small car outside. It was parked on a road that they had not been able to see from the exterior of the building. It must have belonged to a woman, a professional freelance therapist – the words 'Rebecca Jordan NEW Therapy Techniques' had been neatly spray painted on the side along with her telephone number. The vehicle looked untouched, apart from a few bloody fingerprints on the front licence plate. Joey wondered what had happened to the therapist. Was she still inside the car? Or had she fallen victim, or perhaps become a biter herself? She shook her head to brush off the depressing chain of thought, then moved on with the rest of the group – catching up with Charlie and Watson moments later.

The three armed women advanced slowly, with the others trailing cautiously behind them. Up ahead, Charlie could see the entrance to the maternity ward. Their pace quickened and moments later they had reached the doors. Charlie reached out and pushed against one side. It was locked.

"Shhhhhhit," she said in frustration, leaning her forehead against the glass pane. She closed her eyes to clear her thoughts, so that she could think of a way to get in. Rachel needed a bed. The other injured doctor needed help urgently.

"Perfect!" exclaimed Watson. "Could only happen to US! Just when we think we're getting somewhere ... the whole thing goes tits up all over again!"

"Maybe we can break the glass," suggested Joey.

"That won't work," replied Watson, pointing to the window panes. "Look at it. It's reinforced with wire. Shatterproof!"

They turned their backs away from the door, and away from Charlie, so that they could continue their discussion. Charlie remained with her head against the door – her eyes closed. Was there another way into the ward? Maybe Rachel would know. She opened her eyes and blinked to refocus. The sight before her made her flinch. Right in front of her nose - on the other side of the glass - was a badge she recognised. It hadn't been there moments before. Embroidered on the badge was a logo belonging to a special division of the New South Wales Police Force – R.A.T.S.S. Team. Someone was standing on the other side of the door! Behind them, she could see another Team member – a blonde-haired woman. There was only one person Charlie knew who belonged to the R.A.T.S.S. Team. It couldn't be ... could it? She'd recognised the Team's black combat uniform instantly.

The R.A.T.S.S. officer on the other side of the door bent down low enough to look through the glass at her.

"CHARLIE!" he yelled in surprise. He grinned – relieved to see her.

Charlie's mouth fell open. "ANGELO!" she cried - in just as much amazement.

To be continued ...


	20. Chapter 20

May I firstly say a great big thank you to 'Author Extraordinaire' IJKS, who so amazingly read all previous 19 chapters of VST in just a couple of days. Jeez .. that's a lot of reading! I'm really glad you like the story IJKS ... and thank you for your very kind reviews! Too kind! :-)

Okay ... next point – Well done to anyone who spotted the Rebecca Jordan 'NEWT' reference from 'Aliens.' I also introduced a new character with a double reference in her name. Dr A. Ryan-Kwanten was of course a reference to Ryan Kwanten (well done Drowningnotwaving), whom I've been watching in the brilliant TV show 'True Blood' but had no idea that he was Australian, or that he played the part of Vinnie Patterson in H&A, VJ's dad! The other reference in that name is, of course, to the woman who was mistakenly the bane of Joey's existence in MoonShad 4, Dr. Ash Ryan.

I've included something different hidden in this chapter – just for fun. I'll give you a clue. He's small, thin, wears matching red and white striped jumpers and bobble hats, blue trousers, round glasses – and he's usually very difficult to find! Good luck!

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to AL. Here's your 'Strange Fix.' I'm still working on that NH quote!

So that's enough of my rabbiting ... here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! :) FCBC x

VERY STRANGE THINGS

**Chapter 20**

"You _know_ him?" asked Joey.

Charlie froze. In her surprise at seeing Angelo, she had forgotten that she was now in the presence of one girlfriend and one ex-boyfriend. _Damn!_ Much explaining would be needed, especially considering Angelo's less than virtuous past.

"We all know him, Joey," growled Alf, giving Angelo the dirtiest of looks. He and Hugo set the surf board carrying the doctor down on the ground as the anger inside them grew.

They watched as Angelo unlocked the door and opened it to let them in. As he swung the door back, he smiled to welcome them, only to be greeted with many unhappy-looking faces. Bill and James walked on past, thanking him and saying a polite 'hello' to Angelo's companion. The rest remained outside, eyeing Officer Rosetta suspiciously - all, that is, except Joey, who now felt as though she was an extra in a spaghetti western, right in the middle of a Mexican standoff – but without any Mexicans – and not a single moustache, sombrero or poncho in sight!

Rachel suddenly felt a much bigger contraction and cried out in pain. The jolt to her body made her feel faint and she began to sway. Joey put her arm around her and pushed past Angelo to take her inside. She glanced back at Charlie, who nodded. Joey knew exactly what it meant. She would follow inside with the others as soon as they had exchanged long-overdue words with Angelo Rosetta.

"If you think I'm going in there with you ... you can shove it," said Alf calmly, but with anger seeping into his voice.

Hugo stuck his chest out defiantly. "And that goes for me too!"

Angelo sighed and shook his head. "Fine ... STAY HERE," he said, closing the door again.

"Hang on guys," interrupted Charlie, trying to keep their testosterone levels from shooting through the roof. "We are in no position ... and this is no time ... to be bringing up the past."

Hugo was horrified. "BRINGING UP THE PAST, CHARLIE? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHAT HE DID TO JACK?"

Charlie turned around and glared at him, her eyes wide with anger. "OF COURSE I HAVEN'T," she hissed. "But we have one doctor in labour ... and one in urgent need of medical attention ... and we need both of them to be well enough to find a cure. We need to be in this ward ... and we need that medical equipment. There'll be time enough for confrontation later."

Hugo and Alf sighed in unison. Leah turned to look at them. "She's right, guys. You can all roll up your sleeves and go bare knuckle to bare knuckle_ AFTER _we do what we need to do here. We have no other choice."

Angelo had heard every word and opened the door again, remaining expressionless. He didn't want to provoke any more anger against himself - and at that moment it was very possible.

Leah, Ruby, VJ and Ripley moved past them and into the ward, following Rachel and Joey into one of the rooms.

Watson stared in loathing at Angelo. "Who's the blonde chick?" she asked, tipping her head in the direction of Angelo's partner.

Angelo ignored Watson's attempts to demean his colleague. "This is Special Officer Christine Redfield," he replied. He turned to face her. "Chris ... this is Georgina, Charlie, Alf and Hugo."

Chris moved forward and extended her hand to greet them. She was a very pretty athletic woman in her late twenties. A small elongated scar on the side of her cheek gave her a tough commando image. No-one had anything against her, so they politely accepted her offer, even managing a smile as they did so. The formality helped ease the tension and they all moved inside the ward. Angelo locked the doors behind him.

"We need to find a bed for the doctor," urged Charlie.

"Down here and turn right," replied Angelo. "Take the first room on the right. It's not been used in days."

Alf and Hugo followed with the doctor on the surf board. As soon as they entered the room they set her down and transferred her onto the bed, then placed her on her side to make sure she could breathe without restriction. They could all hear Rachel cry out in the pains of her labour. She was nearby in another room and the sound was quite unsettling to their ears. Charlie realised that she was their priority, and rushed to be by her side. Besides, Rachel was the only conscious survivor with a medical background, and Charlie needed her advice if she were to going to help the virologist to regain consciousness.

As she entered the room, she saw Joey sitting beside Rachel, holding her hand. Leah had pulled the curtain most of the way round, and Ruby sat on an adjacent bed with VJ and Ripley, out of view. The rest of the survivors remained in the other room with the injured doctor, so as to give Rachel some privacy.

Joey smiled at Charlie as she approached the bed and placed her hand on her knee as soon as she was sat beside her. Charlie kissed her cheek, and could see by the look on Joey's face that she was excited about taking part in helping to bring a new life into the world. She saw that Joey had set her weapon on the floor beside the bed and did likewise, then she took Rachel's hand in her own.

"What do we need to do, Rach?" she asked. "How do we help you?"

Rachel's face contorted as she felt yet another contraction. "If you could give birth to this baby instead of me, Charlie ... I'd really appreciate it," she replied - only partly joking!

Joey grinned. Charlie laughed aloud. "I wish I could."

"I need you to find something for the pain," said Rachel. "If you search the ward you'll find a blue canister labelled 'entonox.' Bring it here."

Joey and Charlie stood up immediately and went to search for the 'gas and air' equipment. Leah remained beside Rachel, holding her hand for comfort.

Watson came into the room and rushed to her other side. She saw that Rachel had undressed below the waist and that her legs were raised and spread apart. The lower half of her body was covered by a single white sheet and she looked like she was in a lot of pain.

Rachel's eye's rolled back in her head and her legs began to tremble. "_I think I'm going to be sick_."

Watson rushed to find a basin. Leah stayed with her. Suddenly, Rachel grunted loudly. Leah took her hand again. "I think you are in transition, Rach."

Rachel nodded as she fought the urge to vomit. Moments later Watson returned with a small yellow plastic basin. She held it ready just in case.

"Girls?" began Rachel, "I'm going to have to start pushing this baby soon ... and I'll need you to hold my legs steady."

Leah and Watson looked at each other with raised eyebrows. They hadn't imagined themselves getting quite so involved!

--------x-------

Charlie and Joey had tried almost every room but could not find any entonox canisters. They entered the maternity ward office and began to look around inside storage cupboards.

Charlie picked up a clipboard which contained duty schedule for maternity ward staff. She read over the names:

Wilson, I

Higgins, N

Eccleston, I

Richards, T

Eames, I

Sanderson, A

Weyland, L

Alexander, S

Lemmon, J

Lafayette, U.L

Yutani, I.E.

She realised that most of them were probably now dead or infected. Perhaps they roamed the gardens outside along with the countless other faceless and helpless victims. Joey noticed something on the wall. It was a map of the ward. She moved closer to study it whilst Charlie continued to search the remainder of the office.

"Charlie ...there's a storage area beyond room 6 ... according to this map. It says 'gas canister storage.' That must be where they are."

Charlie came close to look at the diagram for herself. "Great ... let's go ... quickly."

They exited the room and checked the signs above the doors for number six. As soon as they spotted it, they moved quickly towards it. Angelo and Chris saw them.

"CHARLIE WAIT!" he shouted.

Charlie and Joey stopped and spun around.

"You don't want to go in there ... trust me," he said.

"Why not?" asked Joey.

Angelo briefly lowered his head in sadness as he thought about what he and Chris had had to do there over the past 24 hours. "When we got here this place was a mess. Bodies everywhere. Room six ... it's emm ... it's where we had to put the deceased patients and staff ... and visitors," he said solemnly.

Charlie and Joey's hearts filled with sadness.

"How many?" asked Joey, her bottom lip quivering.

"Too many," replied Chris. "Probably close to one hundred people."

It was a terrible thought. Charlie shook her head in sorrow, then took a deep breath and gathered her courage. "We need to get some pain relief from the store room at the back ... for Rachel. So whatever is in there ... we'll just have to deal with it."

Angelo nodded, acknowledging the necessity of their task. "Do you need help?"

Joey looked at him and smiled weakly. "No ... it's okay. It's only the ones that are still alive that we need to worry about."

They continued moving towards room 6. Charlie turned the handle and opened the door slowly. Immediately the smell of death in the air invaded their nostrils. It was foul. They covered their mouth and nose with one hand and stepped inside. Both sides of the room were filled with bodies, some were stacked on the beds, and others were piled on the floors beside them. Many had succumbed to the disease and bled to death whilst some looked as if they died at the hands of other infected. Regardless of how they died, Rohella was responsible for every fatality in that room. Witnessing death on such a scale refuelled Charlie and Joey's hatred of the virus that had destroyed so many lives. The world could never be the same again.

At the back of the room, Joey saw the door to the store room. She moved towards it quickly with Charlie following her closely behind. They tried to avoid looking at the corpses as much as possible. The sight was too horrifying.

As soon as they reached the door, Joey wished she'd remembered to bring her rifle. It was now becoming a habit to ready their weapons before entering any new room.

"Is he sure this room is safe too?" asked Joey.

"Yes. He would have checked it already ... to make sure the ward was clear of any possible threats," replied Charlie.

Joey hoped she was right about that, then opened the door for them to enter. The room was small, but was indeed free of infected people. It had many shelves which were specially designed to house gas tanks of various sizes. Along the far wall they saw several small canisters of entonox. Joey moved quickly to release one, then turned back. Charlie followed her and allowed the door to close behind them. It would be a relief to spend a few moments breathing slightly fresher air.

"So how come you know him, Charlie? Did you work with him before?"

"Yes," replied Charlie hesitantly. "But that's not all."

Joey set the canister on the floor and looked her in the eye. She could already guess by Charlie's reluctance to talk about him that he had been more than just a colleague. However, she was curious to see how Charlie would break the news.

"He and I ... we dated for a while."

Joey grinned. Charlie had expected Joey to be surprised or upset – or both, but was instead taken aback herself by Joey's reaction. She tutted.

"You already _knew_!"

"I'm no genius, Charlie ... but it doesn't take an Einstein to figure you out!"

Charlie pouted her lips, pretending to sulk, but couldn't make it last. A smile spread across her face as she pulled Joey closer, wrapping her arms around her. Joey reciprocated and pressed her lips gently against Charlie's. They kissed tenderly, allowing it to quickly develop into something more passionate. Charlie opened her mouth, allowing Joey to gently flick her tongue inside. It was something they had become used to doing, even in the short time they had been together. Many of their passionate kisses began this way exactly, and both of them relished the familiarity of it, and the wonderful sensations it gave them every time. Suddenly Joey pulled back.

"Rachel needs us, Charlie," she said. "We'd better go."

Charlie had almost forgotten all about the reason why they were in there in the first place. Joey had the ability to make her forget herself and everything else. She let go of her, but not before promising her that they would continue where they had started later on that evening. The idea pleased Joey very much! She picked up the canister again, and took a mask with a connecting tube from an adjacent shelf. Charlie opened the door for her and they readied themselves for their journey back through the horrors of room 6.

---------x--------

Watson and Leah stood at either side of Rachel, each supporting one of her legs as she yelled out in pain, pushing with each contraction. Assisting her was proving to be a very tricky duty. With one hand supporting a leg, Leah held Rachel's hand with her free hand, whilst Watson used her free hand to daub Rachel's brow to remove sweat and prevent it dripping into her eyes. Rachel was gasping and trying not to let the anger caused by her labour pains to show. She wished Tony were there with her. She wished that the virus hadn't killed the hospital staff or anyone else for that matter. She wished that she didn't have to put her fellow survivors in such a difficult and demanding position.

Ruby sat quietly amusing VJ in the corner on top of one of the beds. They were playing with Ripley, teasing her by moving their hands underneath the white sheet on the bed. Ripley was sure there were mice under there and she tilted her head, trying to figure out a way to catch them.

"Is she having her baby?" asked VJ.

"Yes," replied Ruby.

VJ listened for a few moments before thinking of another question. "Are you going to have a baby one day, Ruby?"

Ruby listened as Rachel groaned and cried out in agony. "No," she replied resolutely. It was one question she didn't need to think too much about!

Charlie and Joey came rushing into the room and moved to the side of the bed.

"We found what we needed," said Joey. "How are you feeling?"

Rachel's eyes were closed. She suddenly grunted loudly and yelled aloud - "BASTARD!"

Joey frowned. "Okay ... I'll take that to mean - _'I could be better, Joey ... but thanks for asking'_."

Charlie grinned at her.

"Sorry Joey," apologised Rachel. "I didn't mean you!"

Joey smiled. "I know, Rach. Sounds like you could do with some of this right now. How do we hook it up?"

Rachel panted. Watson wiped the sweat from her brow again.

"Just [gasp] attach the tube to the canister [gasp] then put the mask on the end of the tube. [gasp] There's a nozzle to turn."

Joey did as instructed, then gave the apparatus to Charlie who was standing closer to Rachel. Rachel took the mask in her hand and sucked in, filling her lungs with the gassy mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide. Immediately she felt her pain begin to ease.

"She's in stage two, Charlie," said Leah.

"I need one of you down at the end of the bed ... to check my progress," breathed Rachel with difficulty.

Watson's eyes widened. She'd never given birth before, and wasn't sure she could be of any further assistance besides being a leg holder and brow wiper. Luckily for her Joey responded first and moved to the bottom of the bed, being the only one not holding a limb or a tank of gas. She raised the sheet to look underneath, pausing to speak to Rachel just before she did:

"Y'know ... normally I don't allow myself to get _this_ intimate with a woman unless she buys me flowers and chocolates first," she said with a wink.

Rachel struggled to giggle but the rest of them managed just fine. "I'll send them afterwards," she croaked, before her laughter cut short by another painful contraction. She pushed again.

Joey frowned and sucked in air though gritted teeth, almost able to feel the pain herself. "You're going to have to tell me what I'm looking for down here," she said. "I don't know much about giving birth."

"Look for a small head," said Watson with a smirk.

Joey paused again before raising the sheet to look. "I SEE IT!" she exclaimed. Her eyes were transfixed in amazement and her mouth fell wide open. She looked up at Charlie, who was grinning at her. Seeing Joey so excited was very sweet.

"Okay guys," began Rachel, "the baby's head is crowning. Can you ask one of the others out there to find sterile cord clamps. They should be in boxes in storage."

"I'll go out and tell them," said Joey. "And I'll help them look."

"No, Joey," said Rachel. "I need you back here. You are going to have to help me get this baby out!"

Joey turned white instantly. She wasn't sure if she could do that. The very thought petrified her. She ran outside and gave the instructions to Angelo, then returned as quickly as she could to Rachel's bedside. Another contraction urged Rachel to push, and Joey watched as the baby's head was born.

"Ehh ohh ... umm ... the head is out," she said in a fluster, unsure if that was the best way to describe it. Was there a specific term? She didn't know, but tried her best to stay calm and not faint.

"Okay ... good," said Rachel. "Now I need you to check and make sure that the umbilical cord is not around the neck. Can you do that?"

Joey gulped. She reached in and placed a hand gently on either side of the baby's head. It's skin felt soft, warm and wet. She looked closely and saw that the cord was not present.

"I don't see it," she replied.

"Okay," said Rachel, taking a deep breath. "Now ... I need you to check for infection. Can you see any marks? Any blotches?" The anxiety in her voice was audible. She tried to raise herself up to look.

Charlie, Joey, Leah and Watson froze and looked at one another in alarm. None of them had even considered the possibility that the baby might be infected. Only Rachel had had the foresight to worry about it, and she had fretted constantly, keeping her fears to herself ever since Rohella had struck.

Joey was almost too afraid to look again. Was the baby immune or had it become infected with the new and more harmful strain of Rohella, Rohella-426? Perhaps the womb had protected it from the virus completely and it's birth was now exposing it to the deadly pathogen all around it.

She looked underneath the sheet again and checked behind the baby's ears. No marks were visible.

"I don't see any, Rachel. What does that mean?"

Rachel swallowed hard. She wasn't sure what it meant. "Pull, Joey," she instructed as her uterine contractions restarted.

Joey put her own fears aside and pulled gently. The baby's shoulders slipped out. She lifted some nearby gauze and wiped the baby's eyes, nose and mouth. Charlie watched her working, feeling very proud of her. Instinct had kicked in and Joey was proving to be a natural carer.

Moments later Rachel told her to pull again. This time the baby slipped out completely and into Joey's arms.

"IT'S A BOY," she shrieked, grinning widely.

The baby began to cry heartily. Tears welled in Charlie's eyes at the beautiful sight. Leah and Watson gently lowered Rachel's legs and went to fetch a blanket to wrap around the newborn. Joey reached him to a very relieved but worried Rachel, who was still strong enough to pull him onto her abdomen to keep him warm. As soon as Lean and Watson returned, they gave the blanket to Rachel, who wrapped it ever so gently around her son.

"He's gorgeous," sniffed Charlie. "Congratulations." She kissed Rachel on the cheek.

Joey moved beside her and kissed her other cheek, congratulating her also. Watson and Leah did likewise soon after. Ruby heard them and left VJ alone with the cat for a few moments to see for herself.

"Awwwww he's so beautiful, Rachel. Congratulations." She also gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Angelo arrived with a box of clamps. He set them down on the bed beside her.

"Congratulations," he said humbly, then turned to leave again – but not before receiving a nasty glare from Watson.

"Thank you," said Rachel, calling after him.

Angelo turned around again briefly as he walked away – giving her a restrained smile.

Rachel gazed down at her new son, studying his skin and his eyes. Her worries about his immunity to Rohella were so great that she had not yet even wondered whether the baby looked more like her or his father. Charlie could see the concern on her face. She knelt down beside her.

"He'll be okay, Rachel. Don't worry," she reassured her.

Rachel looked at her with saddened and teary eyes. "I hope so," she whispered.

Deep down, Charlie was just as worried as Rachel, however, there was no escape from Rohella. It was everywhere. It was inside everyone of the immune. Only time would tell what effects it would have on a newborn baby.

"I'm going to need you to clamp and cut the cord soon, Charlie?" Rachel asked softly.

Charlie looked into her eyes and smiled. "Of course I will. What do I need to do?"

"You'll need a pair of sterile scissors and some gauze ... and two clamps."

Charlie nodded and went to fetch the scissors she needed. She knew where to find them, having spotted them earlier in the ward office. Within less than a minute she arrived back with them, plus a pair of disposable latex gloves. As soon as she put them on, she took the scissors from their sterile packaging and removed two clamps from the box. Joey watched her intently. Now it was her turn to be the proud girlfriend.

When the time was right, Rachel told her how to position the clamps, and where to place the gauze. Then she told her how to cut the cord. To Joey, Charlie had the calmness and composure of a doctor or surgeon with the steadiest of hands – and she looked extremely hot wearing latex gloves, she realised. Her mind wandered off as she considered the possibility that she might have a latex glove fetish! Shaking her head to bring her out of her daydream, she continued to watch Charlie, who glanced up at her briefly and blushed. It was then that she realised she did not have a glove fetish at all. She simply loved to look at Charlie, the woman she loved, no matter what she was (or was not) wearing!

To be continued ...


	21. Chapter 21

Hi all – Thank you for your very lovely reviews. I'm very glad you liked the last chapter. I wanted Charlie and Joey to become very involved in the birth of the baby. It's so much fun writing a story where the girls kick butt and the guys are just ... y'know ... buttheads ... sometimes! So here is another 'Strange Fix.' I very much hope you enjoy it. :-)

FCBC xxxx

VERY STRANGE THINGS

**Chapter 21**

Joey felt very relaxed as she watched Charlie, who was standing over the scrub basin removing her latex gloves and washing herself. Seeing just how good Charlie had been at assisting Rachel through the rest of her labour made her feel like she was the luckiest girl alive. Rachel had given her such complex instructions that Joey was glad she didn't have to understand them. Charlie had been amazing. She was such a special person - very caring, kind and thoughtful – and she had proven once again that she was never one to shy away from difficult situations which sometimes required her to do demanding things she had never done before. She was also one who did not suffer fools, always telling them exactly what she thought of their stupidity. James Darwin could attest to that fact! Joey loved all these things about her, and her mind wandered, filling up with nice thoughts about their future together.

As soon as Charlie had freshened up, she approached Rachel's bed. There was much more work to be done. Joey's heart leapt as Charlie neared. Thinking such sweet things about her girlfriend had given her butterflies in her tummy and she was now looking forward to Charlie's earlier promise all the more!

Charlie knelt beside the bed, taking time to admire Joey – and the new arrival again. "Rachel. I need to go help the doctor now ... but I'm not sure what to do."

Rachel smiled at her. She had an idea. "The first thing you need to do is bring her bed in here and put it over there," she said, nodding towards the other side of the room opposite her own bed. "That way I can tell you what needs to be done ... and I can watch her progress from here."

Charlie smiled. "Good plan." She turned to Joey. "Okay ... let's wheel her in, Jo."

They walked to the other room. Alf and Hugo stood beside the bed. The rest of them had gathered outside in the corridor. Watson was beside Leah, both of them gazing in through the open doors at the mother and baby snuggling together on the bed.

"Do you think she'll breast feed him?" whispered Watson.

Leah's looked surprised at the very idea. "If I were her ... I'd be too scared too. Maybe he's a little biter," she giggled.

Watson grinned. "Somehow I don't think that'll be a problem. Besides ... he doesn't have any teeth yet."

--------x--------

"Any change?" asked Charlie.

Alf shook his head. "No, love. She hasn't moved a muscle."

"We need to take her next door. Rachel will know what to do."

Alf and Hugo stepped aside to allow Charlie and Joey to release the brake and move the bed. Everyone else followed them. They placed her directly opposite Rachel, who sat up a little higher in bed to get a better view of the CDC virologist.

"Check the dressing on her arm for infection," she said. "It needs to be cleaned properly. Who knows how long she was down there ... stuck in the filth of those sewers."

Joey went to fetch clean bandages and gauze whilst Charlie looked for a disinfectant solution. She also found new latex gloves for both of them. As soon as Joey had returned, Charlie gave her a pair to put on. They set to work, removing the old bandage first. Joey peeled it back to reveal the nasty bite mark. Small particles of dirt from the sewers clung to areas of broken skin, although the bleeding had stopped at least. She took a pair of tweezers and removed them carefully, then filled a syringe with solution and washed the area as best as she could. Meanwhile, Charlie prepared new dressings. An unusual noise made Charlie stop what she was doing. She stared at Joey with a look of concern.

"What was that? It sounded like gurgling."

"Don't worry," replied Joey, her cheeks turning red. "It's just my stomach."

Charlie giggled. "It's probably a good idea if we try to find something to eat around here before it gets dark. We don't know how much light we will have later. I don't think the hospital is running on full power."

Joey liked the idea of dinner very much. Charlie called on Angelo to come to her side.

"How much of this building have you and Chris been able to search?"

"All the way up to the emergency ward. We couldn't get in there."

"Did you see any food?"

"Yeah ... the canteen kitchen isn't far. They seem to have plenty of food in storage."

"These people need something to eat pretty soon," she said. "Can you guys find some supplies and bring them here? Watson's armed ... she can go with you."

Angelo sighed. Not only did he dislike the idea of having to play cook and waiter, he especially didn't like the idea of taking Georgina Watson anywhere with him. She had given him nothing but looks of revulsion ever since their surprise reunion, and he was convinced that if she joined them in their search of the canteen, she'd grab the first kitchen knife she could find and lodge it firmly in his back!

"Err ... it's alright, Charlie ... we'll manage on our own, thanks," he assured her.

Charlie grinned at him, understanding just what he meant by it.

Angelo and Chris took up their weapons and checked their body armour. "We'll need one of you to guard the door while we are away ... and wait for us until we get back."

"Okay," replied Charlie. She turned to look at her colleague. "Wats-"

"NOT HER," Angelo insisted again with a stern expression on his face. He looked at Watson. "No offence."

Watson glared at him. "None taken," she replied through gritted teeth.

Charlie asked Bill to take Watson's place as door guard. He gladly accepted, and was thankful that he would not have to leave the security of the maternity ward himself. Charlie and Joey continued to treat the mystery doctor.

--------x-------

Bill locked the doors as soon as Angelo and Chris exited the ward. They hurried along the corridor, remaining on high alert. Ever since they'd arrived at the hospital they encountered the same problem time and again; as soon as they had managed to clear an area, they would return shortly afterwards only to find another infected roaming around. The canteen was not far, and the last time they had gone inside it was empty. Would it still be empty or would they have to defend themselves once again?

"So how do you know Charlie?" asked Chris as nonchalantly as she could pretend to be. She had sensed somehow that her boyfriend might have a history with the beautiful brunette, and a little jealousy was creeping in!

"I used to work with her," he replied. Angelo had dealt with his girlfriend's jealous streak several times before, and it had not been easy. He had figured out that the best way to handle it was to avoid all possible confrontation. Consequently, he chose not to divulge any more information than that.

Chris had carefully observed Charlie helping the doctor alongside the other brunette. "She seems quite close to that Joey girl, don't you think?"

Angelo stopped walking and eyed her. "What do you mean?" He sensed that she was going somewhere with her questions, and he wasn't sure that he liked it.

Chris shrugged her shoulders. "I mean ... when I watch them together ... I get the impression that they like to ... y'know ... ... eat hairy pie," she smirked.

Angelo's mouth fell wide open. He couldn't decide whether to be shocked at the suggestion, or amused at his girlfriend's rather unrefined choice of words.

"Each other's pie ... to be precise," she added, in case Angelo hadn't understood the first time round. She knew that he didn't always pick up on the obvious too easily.

"Yes I know exactly what you are implying, Chris," he replied sharply - a little irritated, "but Charlie is _straight_!"

"OH REALLY? And how do you know that?"

Chris knew exactly how to manipulate Angelo to get the truth out of him. Angelo dropped his shoulders and exhaled loudly. How was she able to do this every time?

"Y'know you should work in interrogation ... and torture ... not search and rescue, babe!"

Chris laughed aloud. "So? ... come on ... spit it out!"

Angelo looked her in the eye and smiled graciously in defeat. "We were a couple once ... okay? Happy now?"

"Very!" said Chris, pleased with herself again. Angelo was so easy to read.

They continued moving forward quietly before Chris broke the silence:

"Well .. if she _was_ straight ... she ain't anymore!"

Angelo scowled at her.

Neither noticed the large blood-soaked figure following them quietly towards the canteen.

--------x--------

Charlie and Joey finished changing the dressing on the doctor's arm. They looked at one another and smiled coyly. The last few minutes had been spent silently working together – but it had been a very comfortable silence.

"Piece of cake," declared Joey enthusiastically. "What's next?"

Rachel shouted across from the other side of the room. "Joey ... do you have a torch?"

Joey checked her pocket and produced the small flashlight she had been using in the sewers.

"Great," said Rachel. "Now I need you to open her eyelids and shine the light inside. Are her pupils contracting?"

Joey moved to the doctor's side and lifted one eyelid, flinching as soon as she did. The doctor's eyes were bloodshot - so much so that it was almost impossible to tell what colour they once had been. Her pupils were distinguishable, but were an even brighter shade of red.

"Charlie .. come take a look at this," she said in surprise.

Charlie moved to her side and looked, gasping at the sight. This was a new development. The blotches behind her ears suggested that she was immune, but the colour of her eyes suggested something entirely different. She quickly moved across the room to inform Rachel of the anomaly.

--------x--------

Inside the canteen it was eerily quiet, apart from the low frequency vibrations emanating from the refrigerators all around them. Luckily no infected people had died in there. In some of the other wards they'd had to advance through an horrific assault course of corpses lying across the tiled floors.

Chris opened a fridge door at the back, finding a supply of plates filled with ready-cooked chicken dinners containing an assortment of chicken legs and breasts garnished with potatoes and vegetables. She pulled a nearby trolley towards her and began to fill it with enough meals for everyone, remembering to bring a little extra for their feline companion. She turned to Angelo.

"We can heat these up," she said.

Angelo searched for an oven. He spotted a large one almost instantly and turned it on. Chris came over to him and loaded it up with dinners.

"Now all we need to do now is wait," she grinned.

"How long?"

"Long enough to fill the time doing something ... umm ... a bit more interesting than looking at the walls," she replied, edging closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Their lips collided. Angelo quickly pushed his tongue deep inside his girlfriend's mouth.

Hastily he began to remove her clothes, but not before undoing the zip on his combat trousers.

Chris pulled her lips away from his. "Bloody hell, Angelo ... SLOW DOWN," she cried. "It's an oven we're waiting on .. not a microwave! It doesn't need to be over in two minutes!"

"Sorry," he breathed heavily, kissing her passionately again.

Her words didn't have much effect. Angelo wasn't sure that he knew how to slow down. He lifted her off her feet and moved them both to a nearby dining table, lying her on top of it. Their kissing continued, becoming more and more intense. Several feet away, a male figure moved slowly towards them. His bloodshot eyes stared at them, unable to look anywhere else. He wanted the blonde guy on top. He looked so very appealing.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chris caught sight of the infected man standing a few feet behind Angelo. He looked grotesque and his eyes were staring wildly at them. She screamed!

"ANGELO ... BEHIND YOU!"

Angelo sprang to his feet and swung around. The infected man lunged at him fiercely, forcing him backwards. He pushed his arms against the man's chest to stop him getting any closer. The man had very large muscles, and looked like a professional bodybuilder. Angelo struggled against him, but was losing the power battle fast! Chris sat up and lifted her rifle, then aimed and fired at his shoulder. Click! It had jammed. She struggled to free the obstruction. Angelo's face contorted as the infected man's mouth neared his own. They fell to the ground, the larger man landing painfully on top of him. He was now sure that he was going to die at the hands of a biter. As the last of his strength diminished, he closed his eyes, dreading the painful bite he was about to feel. The infected man's lips pressed against his own, covering his face in blood. Instead of teeth, he felt a large swollen tongue pushing inside his mouth. _Ewwwwwwwww! What the-?_

He screamed! "CHRIS ... HURRY ... SHOOT HIM!"

Chris tried again to fire a shot, but the rifle was still jammed. Angelo now realised that he was not dealing with a biter after all. He was under attack by a monstrous gay bodybuilder who was trying to have his wicked way with him! In Angelo's eyes, this was much much worse than being attacked by the hungry. The infected man began to gyrate his hips forcefully, back and forth against Angelo's pelvis. He was so strong and each thrust hurt more than the last. The sheer embarrassment instilled Angelo with a newfound strength. There was no way on Earth he was going to be dry-humped to death! He pushed will all his strength, forcing the infected upwards and away from him. Finally Chris cleared the jam and fired two shots into his shoulder, making him recoil in agony and fall to the floor beside Angelo, screaming, his voice almost as high-pitched as James Darwin's. Angelo scrambled away from him and stood up. He looked down at the infected man, writhing in pain, then knelt on one knee and punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.

He stood up, out of breath, then straightened his clothes and looked at Chris.

"Not a word about this to the others ... is that clear?" he warned her.

Chris couldn't have stopped grinning even if she had wanted to.

Angelo saw that the man was wearing an orderly's uniform. His identity badge said _'Arnold Spunkmeyer.'_

"What the hell was his problem?" he said, shivering at the thought of what had just happened. The fact that both men had had an erection throughout the entire attack didn't help matters. Angelo was thankful that his own was due to Chris, and no-one else!

"I guess you're just too irresistible," teased Chris. "Some guys just can't resist a police officer in uniform."

Angelo gave her a look of scorn. He was not in the mood for jokes!

--------x--------

"That certainly is new ... and unexpected," said Rachel. "I need to see them for myself." She lifted her new son and offered him to Leah, who was standing beside her. Leah gingerly took the small bundle of joy in her arms and cradled him. He was beautiful. His skin was pink and perfect – a rare sight over the past few days.

Charlie put her hand gently on Rachel's arm. "You shouldn't be getting up so soon, Rach. Stay here. I have an idea."

She got up and moved towards the doctor, taking her phone from her pocket. "Joey ... can you help me for a sec?"

Joey met her at the side of the bed. "Sure. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to open her eyes. I'm going to take a photograph to show Rachel."

Joey nodded and did as she was asked. Charlie took a few close-up snaps, then raised the camera and took a photograph of Joey, who smiled coyly for the camera.

"How do I look?" she asked, fluttering her eyelids sweetly.

"Not bad ... not bad at all," replied Charlie with a smirk. She glanced down and noticed that Joey's dark-coloured briefs were teasing their way above her jeans. They looked very tempting, and so she took a photograph of them too. "Well chosen briefs ... I must say. Chicks dig grey."

Joey blushed and blew her a kiss. Charlie watched it happen on the screen of her phone and smiled. They moved together for a very chaste yet very tender kiss.

--------x--------

Minutes later Angelo and Chris's appearance at the maternity ward doors startled Bill. He quickly opened up and let them inside, locking it tightly as soon as they entered. It pleased him very much to see that they had brought a trolley filled with hot food – and it smelled delicious. They had also brought a selection of cold drinks from the refrigerator.

As they entered the room where all the survivors had gathered, they were greeted with smiles all round. Even Watson managed a wry one, although she was happy only to see the food - not the delivery boy.

"Chicken for everyone," declared Chris cheerily.

Joey and Charlie moved to the trolley and began to hand out plates.

"Careful ... they're hot, girls," warned Angelo.

He suddenly remembered his earlier conversation with Chris about Charlie and Joey, and he watched them carefully to see if there were any outwardly telltale signs of lesbianism – unable to spot any immediately.

Charlie and Joey moved around the room, making sure everyone received some dinner. Alf was last, and Joey had kept a special meal aside - just for him.

"There you go, Alf," she said, handing him a plate. "I didn't want to give you any chicken legs ... we know you're more of a breast man, right?"

Alf took the plate from her, but gave her a look of puzzlement. He was completely unaware that any of them had seen his collection of oil paintings.

Charlie fought hard to stop herself from laughing out loud, and just about managed to do so. That was, until Joey turned around and winked at her, making her burst into a giggling fit. Watson and Rachel had seen one of his other collections in the computer room back at the Surf Club the day before, and they grinned widely at the in-joke. The rest of the survivors were oblivious.

All of them sat around the room together to eat. Chris gave Ripley the extra chicken she had brought for her. VJ smiled and thanked her. There was silence for what seemed like several minutes, but was in fact only seconds. Joey had sat down beside Chris. She looked at the R.A.T.S.S. logo on Chris's badge.

"That's an ... umm ... unfortunate name for a special police force ... isn't it?"

Chris looked at her with a furrowed brow.

Joey pointed to it. "RATSS? It sounds a bit ... verminy, don't you think?"

"It's perfect," sneered Watson, staring menacingly at Angelo before turning to speak to Chris. "No offence, love" she said, making sure that Angelo knew the insult was meant for him and him alone.

"What does it mean anyway?" asked Ruby.

"Rescue And Transfer Special Support," replied Angelo.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" asked Joey.

Charlie raised her eyebrow in anticipation of his answer. It was a very good question, she thought.

"We were sent here to rescue two doctors," he replied.

"When did you arrive?" asked Charlie.

"Yesterday evening," said Chris, "back when there were eight of us."

Chris and Angelo looked at each other with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Joey. She didn't want to make them feel any worse by asking what had happened to their colleagues. Room 6 had probably become a temporary morgue for at least some of them. She had noticed black uniforms and combat boots on a few of the corpses.

"Which doctors were you looking for?" asked Charlie.

"They weren't employees here," said Angelo. "They had been sent here by CDC ... but by the time we got here to find them ... almost everyone was already dead."

Everyone apart from Chris and Angelo exchanged glances, then looked to the doctor on the bed.

"She's from CDC," said Joey, pointing to the unconscious patient.

Angelo's eyes widened. He quickly took out a notebook from his pocket and opened it at his most recent scribbling. "Is her name Alex?"

"We don't know," replied Joey. "Her ID badge just says Dr. A Ryan-Kwanten."

He turned to look at Chris. "It's her!" Immediately he turned back to look at Charlie. "We need her conscious again as soon as possible, Charlie. You have no idea how important this woman is!"

"We can guess," said Joey. "She's some kind of virologist, right?"

Angelo looked at her. "No," he said, before taking a deep breath and clearing his throat. "She's the cause of all this. She's the one responsible for the outbreak."

On hearing the words, everyone in the room stopped eating and stared at Angelo open-mouthed.

To be continued ...


	22. Chapter 22

Hi everyone – I apologise for not posting sooner. I've been a lot busier lately, and most of my free time has been taken up by JUst the Loveliest person I've Ever met! :o) I'll try to write more often, but my studies are restarting next week, so I'm not sure how that will go. I will do my best to keep updating often!

To recap the previous chapter ... Angelo has just told the survivors that Dr Alex Ryan-Kwanten was responsible for the worldwide outbreak.

VERY STRANGE THINGS

**Chapter 22**

"I don't understand," said Rachel, now struggling to sit upright in her bed. "Every report that came to us here at the hospital clearly stated that the virus originated from a bat bite in Borneo ... in a cave. You must have it wrong, Angelo."

"I wish it were so, Rachel ... I really do," he replied earnestly, before glancing across at the unconscious doctor. "She falsified information to cover her own tracks."

Charlie shook her head in disbelief. "But how? Those reports were official ... and I'm assuming they came from the highest authority at CDC. Right, Rach?" she asked, turning to her friend for verification.

Rachel nodded. "Yes. She couldn't have been able to alter information like that. It's impossible."

"She could," replied Angelo, looking Charlie in the eye, "if she's the director of CDC."

Charlie's mouth fell open and she felt a surge of anger growing inside her. "Are you saying she's the head of CDC? Are you serious?"

Angelo nodded, but remained silent, allowing them all time to comprehend the news – the biggest bombshell of all. There was genuine sadness in his eyes. He felt sorry to have to break the truth to them that way. It was bad enough to be a survivor in a world now so cruelly ruled by the Rohella virus, but to learn that it was caused by a human and not by nature was much harder to accept.

Charlie's stomach knotted – and she no longer felt hungry. In fact, many of the survivors had suddenly lost their appetites. They were now dominated by a different emotion – despair. It was the first time any of them had felt so utterly hopeless. All the death – all the pain and misery – it had all been so unnecessary.

Joey sat staring blankly at the floor, thinking about the past two days, and the horrible things they'd all had to deal with. Her eyes began to moisten. "Tell us everything you know about her," she sniffed. "How did it happen?"

Chris and Angelo moved to one side of the room, so they could address all of the survivors together.

"I can tell you what we've been told so far," he said, taking his notebook from his pocket. "We were sent here to find her ... and our instructions were to bring her back alive ... and unharmed."

"She's infected," said Joey.

"We know," replied Chris, glancing across at the bed. "But she's immune. We've seen the marks."

Rachel remembered the photograph on Charlie's phone of Alex's red eyes. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," she warned.

Angelo stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Rachel looked at Joey and nodded. "Show them."

Joey stood up and moved beside the doctor's bed. She urged Angelo and Chris to follow her, and they obliged reluctantly. Rachel's words had unsettled them. Why was she so unsure about the doctor's immunity? Joey opened one of the doctor's eyes to reveal her completely red eyeball. No white could be seen. It looked very strange, and quite horrible. Chris and Angelo stepped backwards as soon as they caught sight of it. Joey shone her torch directly at the doctor's pupils, making them contract.

"Well ... she doesn't seem to have suffered any brain damage," she confirmed. "I'm not a medical expert ... but I can tell that much."

Angelo leaned closer. "That's not right ... at all. She has the immunity marks ... but I've never seen an immune person with so much damage to the blood vessels in their eyes like that. What does it mean?" He looked at Rachel for an answer.

"I don't know," she replied. "She's doesn't show symptoms like any of the others do. She's certainly unique."

Chris moved to a nearby table to pick up a file of information on the virologist that their team had received for their mission. She interpreted the information aloud to the group:

"Dr Alex Ryan-Kwanten disappeared from CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia USA twelve days ago. A few witnesses ... staff at CDC ... later admitted seeing her leave the building wearing dark sunglasses and looking quite ill. Sadly ... any one who gave evidence died within a few days ... horrible painful deaths ... with pretty much the same symptoms as we see all around us. Bleeding ... lesions ... reddened eyes."

"So she was infected," deduced Charlie. "Her eyes must have looked as they do now ... which would explain her need to wear sunglasses."

Ruby looked confused. "So does that mean she was the first to be infected?"

Chris nodded. "We can't be sure ... but we believe so. Further examination of her offices in Atlanta found several glass vials ... broken and lying on the floor beside her desk. It looks like she was in there when she became infected with Rohella. She may have been exposed to a massive quantity of the virus all at once ... making her highly infectious very quickly."

"So it must have been an accident," said Joey optimistically. She was finding it hard to believe that a human being would be so idiotic as to release such a deadly pathogen deliberately.

Angelo turned to answer her, but was sidetracked momentarily by images of her and Charlie naked together, in the way Chris had suggested earlier. He shook his head to waken himself out of his daydream, even though he admittedly was enjoying the visions in his head.

"Err ... we don't know," he replied. "There may have been signs of a struggle in the room. It was pretty messy in there ... we've seen the photographs ... but we can't be certain whether or not it was caused by a fight with another person ... or by the doctor herself after she became infected."

"So what is Rohella?" asked Watson. "If it didn't come from a bat ... where did it come from?"

Angelo and Chris exchanged glances nervously. They both knew that an honest answer to that question would make them all feel much worse, however they were not prepared to hide the facts from them. Everyone in that room had gone through hell over the past few days, and they deserved to know the truth.

Chris decided to be the bearer of the bad news. "It's ... man-made. Created in a lab."

Anger levels quickly rose in all of them. The real story was much worse than any of them could have imagined.

"But why would someone want to create such a thing?" asked Alf innocently.

Bill had already guessed the answer. His day's as an officer in the Army had given him access to information about warfare that he wished he'd never had the misfortune to learn.

"Bioweapons," confirmed Angelo. "The original project was funded by the United States government. For decades they have been creating new viruses in their battle to remain the dominate superpower in the world. The threat of a nuclear strike no longer has the effect it once had. It's all about bioweapons now ... and that's what strikes fear in the hearts of their enemies. And they've got the technology and the big fat dollars to do it."

"Those _bastards_," cried Hugo. "How dare they! It's bad enough that they made us all suffer George W Bush for eight years ... and now THIS?"

Charlie stood up and walked over to the doctor's bed, glaring down at her in disgust. Just how involved was she in all of this? She must have been part of it. Surely the director of CDC would be aware of any biological weapons that the government were developing – and the government would need help from the CDC. She could not take her eyes off the unconscious woman. Her pretty and innocent-looking face told a different story from what they now suspected to be true. She turned around to question Angelo.

"If she wakes up ... what are you going to do?"

"We have orders to take her back to the CDC offices in Melbourne."

Charlie was not happy with that plan. She was beginning to devise an alternative plan of her own.

Joey sat down and began to think about everything that Angelo and Chris had told them since they had arrived. One piece of information was missing. "You said earlier that you were looking for _two_ doctors," she said. "So who's the other one?"

Angelo checked his notebook again. "Dr Edward Van Leuwen M.D."

Rachel knew the name instantly.

"Who is he?" asked Leah.

"I know him," said Rachel. "He started work here at the hospital a few months ago. He's the new chief of medicine."

"Yes," affirmed Angelo. "He and our doctor here are lovers. They've been seeing one another secretly for six years. And we can only assume that it's the reason she came here."

Joey glared across at the woman they'd all been talking about. "So ... she's a world destroyer ... _and_ a cheater. Pffft! I wonder what else she's got on her CV!"

"She certainly sounds like a charmer," said Bill sardonically.

"Did you find him?" asked Charlie. "Dr Van Leuwen?"

"No," replied Angelo. "By the time we got here ... there were so many infected people with swollen, unrecognizable faces that we couldn't ID anyone. We gave up trying."

Joey stood up and moved beside Charlie, who had barely taken her eyes of the doctor for several minutes. "What do we do now?" Joey asked in a low voice. "About _her_?"

"It's simple. I'm going to find a way to wake her up," she said, then turned to face Joey. "Then ... I'm going to get what information I need from her ... and then I'm going to _kill_ her!"

Joey was taken aback. She'd never heard Charlie talk like that before, and the look in her eyes told her she may have meant every word, but she sincerely hoped she didn't. "How are you going to wake her?"

"I'll ask Rachel if there is anything we can give her. And if that doesn't work ... I'm going to try my luck with my fists ... and punch the bitch back to consciousness."

Joey looked at her in disbelief. It didn't sound like _her_ Charlie at all! "You can't be serious!"

Charlie looked her in the eye. "One way or another, Jo ... I'm going to learn the truth from the one person who knows it."

They both looked down at that 'one person' simultaneously.

Ruby had been sat directly behind them and had heard their conversation. She had a suggestion to offer.

"What about an adrenalin shot?"

They turned around to look at her. The idea sounded plausible, but then again, none of them had any medical training and didn't really know if it was common practice, or what effect it would have.

"You never know ... it worked for Uma Thurman," shrugged Ruby, referring to her favourite Tarantino movie.

Charlie forgot her serious train of thought momentarily to chastise her younger sibling. "When did you see Pulp Fiction, young lady? You're only fifteen!"

Ruby grinned at her. "Don't worry Charlz ... I always cover my eyes at the part where Marsellus Wallace is getting it up the a-"

"RUBY!" yelled Charlie, her eyes wide in shock. "Enough! Don't say another word ... I don't want to hear it." She glanced at Joey. "Jeez," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

Joey couldn't help but grin and wink at the younger Buckton sister. Charlie moved back across the room to speak to Rachel. She sat down beside her.

"I need to make this doctor conscious again, Rachel ... and fast. I want answers. Can you think of anything? What about adrenaline?"

"That would probably kill her, Charlie. It's not a good idea."

"Well we need to do something," urged Charlie.

Rachel had watched Charlie's frustration grow at the doctor lying in the other bed. She remembered a revival technique she had learned from a colleague many years before, but it was highly illegal. However, considering their circumstances, legalities had lost all relevance. Action was needed.

"I think I might be able to do something," she said. "But I'll need some things from storage."

"Good," replied Charlie, standing up immediately. "I'll get them for you. What do you need?"

Joey approached the bed beside them. Rachel took Charlie's hand in hers. "I need for you to stay calm, Charlie. Some of the others can get me what I need." She turned to speak to Joey. "It'll take about an hour before it's ready. Can you find some way to help her relax?"

Joey grinned and extended her hand to her girlfriend. "Oh I'm sure I'll be able to think of something."

--------x--------

The hallway at the far end of the ward was empty and quite dark. Very little daylight was able to penetrate the small windows on the doors on either side. Joey stepped slowly backwards, leading Charlie by the hand.

"Where are we going?" asked Charlie, pretending that she didn't already know.

"Some much needed chill out time," purred Joey.

Charlie's eyebrow raised up and she grinned. "Oh? What did you have in mind?"

"You ... ehh ... you look a little unwell, Charlie ... so I think I have to get you into bed as soon as possible."

"So you're going to make me all better?"

"That's the plan."

Charlie's grin widened. "I like it."

She wrapped her arms around Joey and kissed her ever so softly, their lips barely brushing together. Joey wrapped one arm around Charlie's waist, and her other searched blindly behind her for the doorknob. They stumbled into the room together, wrapped in embrace.

Another survivor had secretly followed them into the corridor, and had watched them all the way. Angelo frowned, realising now that Chris had been right all along. There was a time when he had hoped a reunion with Charlie Buckton would lead to a rekindling of their relationship, but it was now very obvious that that could never happen. She looked too much in love, and in lust, with Joey. He had never seen that look of happiness on her face at any time during their relationship. Sighing loudly, he turned and joined the others once more.

--------x--------

The room they found themselves in looked as though it had not been occupied in several days, and there were no signs of the terror that had beset most of the rest of the hospital, making it appear normal – a reminder of happier times. Joey let go of Charlie's hand and moved to the bed to fluff up the pillows. Charlie quickly tiptoed behind her and rested her hands on Joey's hips, making her smile. Her hands slipped around Joey's waist again, and she squeezed her tightly, burying her face in Joey's hair. Considering the horrible things they'd seen and done over the past two days, it still smelled so good. Joey slowly turned around, their bodies brushing together as she did. Face to face, tummy to tummy, their arms became wrapped around each other tightly and they gazed into each other's eyes.

Charlie's frustration and anger quickly turned into another emotion – pure lust - and she was ready to exhaust all of that emotion on Joey – in the nicest possible way. Her breathing became heavy, and her heartbeat began to quicken. Her skin - her entire body - ached for Joey to touch her, and it was becoming too much for her to bear.

Their lips found one another instantly, a collision of mouths, hungry for one another. Hands eagerly began to remove clothes. Bloodied t-shirts and Willisesque vest-blouses were quickly discarded on the tiled floor below. Charlie allowed her tongue to slowly trace Joey's soft, moistened lips – first the top, and then the bottom. It made Joey moan in pleasure. She reached around Charlie's back and gently unhooked her bra with one hand.

Charlie broke their lips apart and looked her in the eye. "You're way too good at that, Jo. You must have done it a lot. You make it look so easy."

Joey grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "Brett used to let me practice on him."

Charlie's eyes widened. "Really?"

Joey giggled. "Nooooo ... of course not."

Charlie blushed. For a moment she had believed it. She dissolved her embarrassment by pulling Joey towards her for a passionate kiss. Joey wrapped her arms around Charlie's buttocks and lifted her onto the bed, lying her across it sideways. Charlie lay back and gazed up at the ceiling for a moment, before raising her head to look at Joey, who had begun to remove Charlie's boots. As Joey slipped them off, she noticed a pattern of letters engraved on the soles that read 'CJB's'. She wondered what it meant. Did Charlie have personalised footwear ... and a middle name beginning with J that she was not aware of? Or did it mean something entirely different? She shook the thought out of her head so that she could concentrate on the woman she loved. With her arms outstretched, she began to unbuckle Charlie's belt. Their eyes met, and their gaze remained fixed on one another as Joey loosened it and undid the zip. Slowly, she slid Charlie's jeans downwards. The anticipation was excruciating, and Charlie wriggled her legs to free herself faster.

"In some kind of hurry, are we?" teased Joey with a devilish grin.

"Just do it already!" cried Charlie in frustration, making Joey laugh out loud.

Joey leaned close and pressed her lips against Charlie's, their kiss deepening instantly. She moved her attentions to Charlie's neck, trailing soft, wet kisses all the way down, across her breasts until she reached her taut tummy. Charlie gasped in delight, and lay her head back against the side of the bed. The sensations were amazing. Joey gently slid her fingers inside Charlie's briefs, either side, and slipped them off, not daring to take so long this time!

Charlie gasped as she felt Joey's lips make contact with her. Joey slid onto her knees, caressing Charlie with her strong fingers. Charlie writhed in pleasure as Joey's tongue teased her in all the right places! She arched her back and grabbed at the sheets below her, her entire body burning and tingling at the same time. It was heavenly.

--------x--------

Watson hovered beside Rachel's bed with shotgun Annie still firmly in her grasp. She had barely set it down all day. Ever since her brief encounter with the A&E department, when she had emerged from down below in the sewers, she was more frightened that she had ever been. It took a lot of courage to venture into the other rooms to find the items that Rachel had asked for.

"Is that everything you need?" she asked.

Rachel cast her eye over the assortment of medical supplies on her lap. "Yes ... this is good. I'll start working on it right away." She glanced over at Leah, who was still nursing her new baby. Rachel wanted to much to be able to hold him, but she knew the importance of what she needed to do at that moment. There would be time for mother-baby bonding later. And he would need to be fed soon. She set to work.

--------x--------

Charlie could feel her inner tinglings intensify. It was growing stronger and stronger as Joey increased the pace of her actions. Charlie released her grasp on the white undersheet below her and reached downward, running her fingers through Joey''s hair before grabbing a handful of it in the palm of her hand at the back of Joey's head. Joey knew it was a sign of Charlie's impending orgasm, and it aroused her even more. She worked even harder to bring her girlfriend to climax.

Charlie vocalised her pleasure with increasing loudness, gasping in between each outcry. Her back arched, thrusting her tummy upwards. Pulsations deep within her throbbed uncontrollably, and she felt her knees weaken and tremble. Her body relaxed and she collapsed back onto the bed. Joey kissed her inner thighs, moving slowly upwards until she reached Charlie's tummy. She extended her hand to Charlie, who reluctantly took it. She was not sure she could move yet! Joey pulled her, sliding her body across the bed so that she lay lengthways, then she lay down on her side beside her, still half-dressed. She wrapped one arm around Charlie's waist. Charlie lay flat on her back, unable to find the energy to do anything else. Joey buried her face in Charlie's neck, her lips close to Charlie's ear.

"You calm yet?" she whispered, kissing her earlobe.

"Calm?" replied Charlie, realising Joey's huge understatement. "I'm nearly as unconscious as ... uhh ... 'Doctor Evil' in there!" she replied, pointing to the other room.

Joey giggled. "It's nicer than counting to ten, isn't it?"

Charlie forced herself to gather enough energy to move onto her side, facing Joey. She wrapped her arms around her and kissed her tenderly. "_Much nicer_!"

--------x-------

Forty minutes later. Rachel unscrewed the cap of another small bottle filled with clear liquid and inserted a syringe. It swelled with fluid as she pulled on the plunger. Then she checked it was free of air bubbles and added it to her secret medical concoction.

Leah watched her. "Y'know Rachel ... you'd make a pretty good cocktail maker."

Rachel smirked at her. "There's a big difference with my cocktails. You only need the one."

The doors of the room swung open as Charlie entered the room, looking much more composed that she had been, but a little flushed. Her cheeks were bright pink. Joey followed her. Angelo could not take his eyes off either of them. Chris stared at him, wondering if he still had feelings for his ex, but Angelo was oblivious to her eyes on him. Charlie and Joey walked to the side of Rachel's bed. As soon as they stood together, their hands joined – fingers intertwining delicately.

Even though he was disappointed, Angelo could not help thinking how good they looked together. He glanced at Chris, finally, who had not broken her stare.

Angelo frowned. "What?"

Chris tutted, then grinned at him.

"Ruby ... can you help me for a second?" asked Rachel.

Ruby left VJ alone to play with Ripley, and joined them at the bedside. Hugo and Alf followed her, curious to see what Rachel was doing.

"I need you to hold this," said Rachel, holding out an IV drip bag.

Ruby took it, and looked at the multi-coloured mixture inside. It looked very strange.

"It needs to be shaken back and forth constantly, Ruby ... gently ... otherwise it won't mix properly. The heavier fluids will sink to the bottom and it wont be effective."

"Damn that gravity, eh?" said Hugo.

"Hey ... don't knock gravity," said Joey defensively. "Without it we wouldn't be here. No stars or galaxies would have formed. And if we didn't have stars ... we couldn't have supernovae. And if there weren't supernovae ... none of the heavier elements would have been formed. And that means no carbon ... which means no lifeforms ... which means no humans would have evolved!"

Everyone was impressed at Joey's knowledge of astronomy – and biology. But she wasn't finished her speech just yet: "Of course ... on the flip side, ladies ... gravity is one day gonna make our boobs hang quite a bit closer to the ground! So," she shrugged in conclusion, "it's not all good!"

The females in the room giggled, whilst the men's minds were filled with images that Joey had just forced into their heads – mainly of tribal women with their elongated mammary glands – all of whom had never worn a bra in their lives!

Ruby made sure that the contents of the IV bag stayed in motion.

"I need to go over there," said Rachel, nodding towards the doctor. "I've got to insert an IV in her hand."

"We'll help you up," said Joey. Both she and Charlie took one of Rachel's arms and helped her to her feet. She was in pain, but did not want to complain. Her work was much more important to her. She walked over to the doctor and lifted her hand, pleased to see that her veins were good and quite protrusive. As she inserted the needle, Joey and Charlie watched.

"Bring the bag over," said Rachel, as soon as she was finished.

Ruby did as asked, and Rachel attached it. Ruby kept it elevated, but made sure that it's contents stayed well mixed.

"This shouldn't take long," said Rachel.

"What's in it anyway," asked Ruby curiously.

Rachel smiled at her. "Let's just say ... sugar and spice and all things nice."

Ruby smiled and nodded.

Charlie and Joey helped Rachel back to bed, whilst Ruby stayed beside the doctor. Looking down at her, she wondered if she would ever wake up. As her gaze remained transfixed on the doctor, she saw a slight movement in her eyes. They twitched. Or did they? Ruby wasn't sure. Maybe it was her imagination. Moments later they twitched again. Ruby grinned. She turned around to face the others.

"Guys ... I think it's working."

To be continued ...


	23. Chapter 23

Hi all – Thank you all once again for your amazing patience, and for following and reviewing the Very Strange Things story. I apologise for not being able to write and post more often. Someone very special is keeping me blissfully distracted – so feel free to blame her! Heh heh! ;o) I'll try to make up for it this week with an earlier post. Will do my best. Promise! - FCBC

VERY STRANGE THINGS

**Chapter 23**

Charlie and Joey rushed over to the doctor's bedside. Ruby was right – her eyes were moving. The motions were very slight, but unmistakable. Charlie glanced at the IV drip in Ruby's hand. It was almost empty. The twitching quickly spread to the doctor's hands. Joey turned around to speak to Rachel, who was back in bed, nursing her son.

"How long does your magic potion usually take to work?" she asked.

Rachel gave a slight shrug. "It depends. No two people will react to it in the same way ... not that I've used it a lot before. It's considered a very unethical practice."

Joey looked back at the doctor, and then to Charlie. "Looks like you're gonna get your answers soon."

Charlie watched the unconscious virologist as she continued to twitch. She could see her mouth begin to open – and her head moved ever so subtly. Within moments she uttered a soft murmur. Charlie and Joey looked at each other, then leaned closer to try to determine whether or not the doctor was attempting to speak. It sounded very much as if she was having a nightmare!

The noises continued, growing louder and more disturbing. Joey thought she heard the doctor say a name aloud. She listened again for it, and surprisingly did not have to wait long. She looked at Charlie.

"Ed! She just said Ed ... I think. Did you hear it?"

Charlie nodded, then said the M.D's name aloud: "Edward Van Leuwen."

James stood up and came over to the bed beside them. He stared at the doctor in fascination, then turned to Charlie. His eyes made contact with her's briefly, before darting away. He was feeling very nervous. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. Strong-willed women such as her always made him feel very inadequate.

Charlie frowned, then raised her eyebrow in expectation. Would he ever be able to spit the words out?

"C-can we please ... err ... go check on my g-girlfriend?"

He looked at Charlie momentarily again, trying to sense her reaction, then averted his eyes once more.

"Yes. We can," she replied.

James looked at her and grinned – relieved that she hadn't bitten his head off for a change.

"But you're staying here," she added.

His grin disappeared in an instant, then his face filled with sadness – and annoyance. He was convinced that Charlie hated him, but decided to stand up for himself this time.

"Look, lady ... you may be Miss Bossy Boots of Summer Bay .. but I'm not from here. She's my girlfriend ... and I'm going to see her whether you like it or not!"

Charlie blinked in astonishment. Finally, James had demonstrated that he was at least part-man, and was perhaps in possession of a pair of testicles after all! She looked at Joey in amusement, then turned back to him.

"Okay then ... just don't be getting too close this time!"

"I'll go with you," said Joey.

"What about my sister?" asked Alf, standing up and moving to the centre of the room.

Most of the survivors had forgotten about their encounter with the town gossip on the roadside earlier that day. Getting inside the hospital had been extremely difficult. If they were going to try to bring her back there, as promised to Alf, it would mean another journey through the filth and stench of the underground sewers. No-one, not even Alf himself, welcomed that idea.

Hugo stood up, then exhaled loudly. He was reluctant to say what was on his mind, but felt it was the right thing to do. "I'll volunteer to go find her," he said, "if someone is prepared to go with me."

Alf smiled. "I'll go, mate. After all ... she is me flesh and blood. It's only right."

Hugo moved to the nearest window, peering outside. "We need to find out how many of them are out there first. If we travel back through the sewers ... we'll need to make sure that the exit at the other side is clear ... and that the cars are still ... unoccupied."

They all nodded in agreement. Hugo did have a good point.

"Hey ... what about the roof?" suggested Ruby. "Couldn't you check from up there?"

"She's right," said Charlie. "You'll be able to get a good view of the entire complex."

She moved to Rachel's bedside. "Do you know the quickest way to get up to the roof, Rach?"

Rachel closed her eyes and once again imaged the layout of the hospital. "Yes," she exclaimed, opening her eyes again. "Go along the corridor to the right of here. There's a stairwell on the right hand side. It should take them straight to the roof. It's just two floors up."

Alf and Hugo heard her directions and moved towards the exit, before quickly realising that neither of them were armed.

"We need some protection," said Hugo, turning back to face the group.

Watson smirked. "Guys ... this is no time to be thinking about getting your rocks off."

Hugo gave her a look, then smiled at her. He liked Watson and her occasional irreverent behaviour.

Bill stood up. "I can help you out there. I'll go too ... and I'll take my Annie with me ... if you don't mind, Watson?"

Watson smiled at him and handed back his rifle. "Here ... just keeping her safe for you, Bill. She's loaded and ready."

"I knew she was in good hands," he replied. "You're probably better with her than I am."

Charlie picked up something from inside her bag and moved with them to the ward exit. "Good luck, guys. Take this with you," she said, handing them a walkie-talkie. "Let us know what's going on out there. And remember its channel 7."

Alf took the walkie-talkie and nodded in acknowledgement. Charlie opened the door and let them out. "Be careful," she called after them.

As soon as they had left, she locked the door and returned to the doctor's bedside to check on her before preparing to travel back to the morgue store room to check on Zara Snyder.

--------x--------

The short walk along the hospital corridor was incident-free. Bill walked furthest up ahead with Annie outstretched. Hugo and Alf followed side-by-side. Neither wanted to be the last man at the back with no gun. All around them, they were reminded of the horrible things that must have taken place. Blood splatters told tales of horrific battles between infected and uninfected. Equipment and first aid supplies were strewn all over the floor. They soon reached their first destination. Two large glass doors separated the men from the stairwell. It allowed them a good view of what was up there – and from where they were standing it appeared to be empty.

Hugo pushed one of the doors open. Bill stepped inside cautiously and began to ascend. The other two followed him just as tentatively. All three listened quietly for noises above them. They could hear a low-pitched whirring noise, which gave an occasional click. It sounded like a fan – possibly a faulty ventilator. It didn't sound like an infected. They quickened their pace a little, moving swiftly and quietly upwards.

--------x--------

Charlie stared down at the doctor as her twitching intensified. She hoped that by the time she came back from checking on Zara, the doctor would be close enough to consciousness that she could speak to her. She turned to look at James. "Bring some blankets for her ... if you want."

James began to lift a handful of blankets that sat folded nearby, and some pillows from the unoccupied beds. Soon he had his arms filled with so much bedding that he could barely see where he was going.

Charlie tutted. "Uhh ... James ... what the hell are you doing?" she asked. "Are you planning on settling down in there with her?"

James was becoming fed up with being chastised so often, and by so many people.

"Look ... Charlie ... she's in there alone ... on a cold, hard floor. If you want to be a bitch and try to make me take one paltry blanket ... and one pillow for her ... go ahead. See if I care! I'M TAKING THESE. You can say whatever you like."

He looked at her through narrowed eyes – the surge of bravery he was feeling was making him a little dizzy. As soon as Charlie mirrored his hostile gaze, that bravery vanished.

Charlie sighed. "Okay ... I suppose you do have a point," she relented. "But don't think I'll forget that you called me a bitch! I know Joey won't forget it ... right, Jo?"

Joey gave a pretend glare to James before answering her girlfriend's question.

"Right," she said. Then, she looked away and smiled to herself. Deep down she was quite amused that James had had the courage to even try and call Charlie any kind of name!

"Let's go," said Charlie.

She switched on her walkie-talkie to channel 7, clipped it to her utility belt and put it on. Joey picked up their rifles, handed Charlie hers, and led James towards the exit.

Leah followed them to let them out. "Be careful," she said. "Especially you, James. Don't be getting any ideas when you see your beloved again. Remember ... she's not better yet."

"_Oh ha ha ... everyone's a bloody comedian_," he muttered under his breath.

Leah locked the door again behind them.

--------x--------

As they continued their ascent, Bill noticed an object lying on one of the steps. It was a large ladies handbag with big leather straps. The clasp was open, and some of the contents were lying nearby – a lipstick and purse. It had obviously been abandoned during some kind of pursuit – or at least that was how it seemed. They were now just a few steps away from the door leading to the roof of the hospital. The route had been clear, and the stairwell had shown no other signs of having been overrun with infected, apart from a few droplets of blood on the floor.

He turned around to look at the other two. "We have no idea what's out there on the roof. So stay frosty ... and alert. We can't afford to let _one_ of those bastards in here."

Alf and Hugo nodded. Alf frowned. "Wish I'd brought something with me ... anything."

Bill smiled to himself and reached down to pick up the handbag. He offered it to Alf. "There .. you can hit them with this," he grinned.

Alf and Hugo smiled back at him.

"Just stay close to me," said Bill, his serious face returning immediately. He turned back towards the door. Alf and Hugo sensed that Bill's time in the Army had given him great leadership qualities, and they felt very fortunate to have him there with them.

Bill outstretched his arm and placed it gently on the handle, then pushed it quickly and threw open the door. Moving forward quickly, he entered the roof area, closely followed by the other two. Instinctively they turned around and stood with their backs to one other, their eyes darting in all directions checking for movement. All around them they saw only the upper sections of ventilation systems that ran throughout the building. They were enclosed in metal casings but looked quite rusted in places. No infected could be seen. Their bodies relaxed, allowing them to get on with their task. They walked together to the edge of the roof and looked over. In the distance, they could see the cars that had been abandoned earlier – but they were completely surrounded by people! It seemed like the number of infected now wandering outside Northern District Hospital had doubled in the short space of time that they had been inside. There was no way they could try a rescue attempt now. Alf lowered his head in utter disappointment, resigning himself to the fact that Colleen would remain ill and alone along the roadside.

Hugo placed his hand on Alf's shoulder. "I'm sorry, mate."

Tears began to well up in Alf's eyes. He wiped them away with the palm of his hand.

"We'll find her as soon as we find a way," Hugo assured him. "We'll think of something, okay?"

Alf looked at him and managed a faint smile - for Hugo's sake - who was only trying to help. He felt lucky to have him as both friend and business partner.

Bill glanced at the ever-growing crowd below. In the distance he could see more infected moving slowly towards the hospital. He leaned over the railing and down towards the front entrance. A familiar sight caught his eye. He turned quickly to look at Alf.

"Your sister's down there, Alf. I can see her," he said pointing to an area near to some trampled wildflower beds below. "Look."

Alf's eyes widened. He looked in the direction that Bill was pointing and gasped, easily picking Colleen's flowery dress out from the others around her. "Flamin' hell ... you're right. IT'S HER!"

Hugo took the walkie-talkie from Alf and turned the dial until the LCD display read '7.' He pressed the button to speak.

"Do you guys want the good news or the bad news first?" he said. There was a pause, before Charlie's voice echoed over the speaker:

"_We don't want any bad news, Hugo."_

Hugo grinned. "Okay, then ... I'll rephrase that. Do you want the really good news ... or the not so good news but still pretty good news?"

Another pause.

"_Give us the really good news first," _replied Charlie.

Hugo cleared his throat. "Colleen is outside ... near the front revolving doors. So ... it looks like that joyous trip back along _Poo Heaven_ is going to have to wait for another time."

"_That's great," _replied Charlie._ "Now all we need to do is find a way to get her inside."_

They heard Joey's voice in the background.

"_So what's the pretty good news?"_

"Err ... there are about twice as many infected outside as there were when we got here!"

More silence ensued, before Charlie pressed the button to speak.

"_I must be missing something ... how is THAT good news?"_

"Ummm ... well ... I suppose it's good news because they're all safely outside and aren't inside trying to eat us," he chirped.

"_Do you have any other useful nuggets of information for us?"_ asked Charlie with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Hugo thought for a few seconds before replying. "Well ... the Sun is going down ... which means we've almost managed to survive through another day. What's the score with the doctor? She awake yet?"

"_Not yet. We're on our way to see Zara,"_ said Charlie.

"Aah ... well ... give our regards to the bug lady when you see her, will ya? You might wanna bring her a toothbrush to help prise those hairy spider legs out from between her teeth."

James frowned. He didn't like anyone making fun of the woman he loved. "Tell him to shut up!"

Charlie looked at him, then offered him the walkie-talkie. "Tell him yourself ... Braveheart!"

James declined her offer, deciding instead to stay quiet. Charlie pressed the speaker button again.

"_Let us know if you see anything else."_

"Will do," replied Hugo.

He glanced around, quickly spotting a familiar object in the distance. It appeared to be coming closer. An Army helicopter.

"Guys ... LOOK ... a helicopter. Someone's coming!"

All three ran to the far side of the building, closest to the approaching aircraft. They waved their arms furiously to try to get their attention. As the vehicle neared, they could Make Out the registration on the side. It said: 'APK-5HRS'

"Definitely Army," confirmed Bill. "That's a typical Army reg."

Seconds later the helicopter veered off in another direction. The pilots had not seen them.

"Bloody idiots," cried Bill. He turned to Alf and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go back down and figure out a way to get your sister safely inside!"

--------x--------

Charlie, Joey and James stood outside the large heavy doors that led to the morgue. Charlie pushed one open and held it for the other two. Joey and James entered cautiously. The sight before them looked just as horrendous as it had done the first time they saw it.

"Look straight ahead at the door, Jo," said Charlie.

James found himself beginning to shake with fear. He hated the sight of blood, and it was everywhere! He too took Charlie's advice and stared straight ahead. As soon as they were at the far door, Charlie took the key from her pocket and placed it in the lock. She turned it quickly and pushed the door open, readying her rifle. Joey did the same. James took a step backwards.

Zara was awake, and not very happy. As soon as she saw movement, she writhed on the floor, trying desperately to gnash her teeth at them. Her mouth was still gagged. Luckily the ropes around her wrists and feet were keeping her restrained and unable to harm herself or anyone else, but her body was shaking from the cold. James set the blankets down and hurriedly began to prepare a makeshift bed nearby. Charlie and Joey moved closer to her. The lumps on her head appeared to have shrunk since they last saw her.

"I reckon she looks a lot better," smiled Joey.

"Don't be givin' him any encouragement, Jo," whispered Charlie, nodding towards James. "It wouldn't take much to make him do something stupid again."

Joey giggled. James had prepared a bed of blankets to set Zara on, and had kept a few to put over her. All three moved beside the infected woman, who snarled and gnashed even more furiously. Charlie placed her hands under Zara's armpits, whilst Joey lifted her by the legs. They moved her onto the blankets. James put a pillow under her head quickly, then covered her with the remaining few blankets. The effect was instantaneous. Zara hushed immediately, and stopped moving. The sudden feeling of comfort seemed to relax her, and make her forget about her insatiable hunger. The question was – how long would it last?

"Right ... now seems like a good time to make an exit," said Joey.

Charlie agreed. They moved backwards towards the door. James stood up and gazed down at his girlfriend.

"Don't worry, baby," he fretted, "we'll be back soon with a cure ... I promise."

It was as if Zara had understood his words. She looked up at him through sad, red eyes and began to whimper. The pitiful sound was enough to induce James's own tears and he began to sob.

"Damn ... I knew we should have brought tissues," whispered Joey. "There was no way he was going to leave here without crying at least once!"

Charlie grinned at her, then turned to James. "Come on, James ... let's go. We'll check on her again first thing in the morning."

"Sh-shouldn't we give her something to eat?" he asked.

Joey frowned. "I think she's eaten enough in the past few days, don't you?" Her own words reminded her of Robbo. She tried to push the uncomfortable image far from her mind.

Charlie agreed. "Tomorrow morning will be time enough. Let's go back to the others."

James stood up and began moving slowly backwards. Zara closed her eyes and went silent. They all turned and exited the room. James could not bring himself to glance back at Zara, not even for a second. It was too painful. Charlie locked the door again.

--------x--------

The men had made it back to the maternity ward safely, and stood outside the main entrance, knocking. Leah appeared – and let them in. She was about to lock the door when she heard more noise in the corridor outside. She quickly looked out and saw Charlie, Joey and James approach.

As soon as they were all inside, Leah locked the door. The others who had remained in the ward offered kind words to Alf. They were glad that Colleen was at least somewhere where that they could keep an eye on her. Alf, Bill and Hugo told them about their helicopter sighting, and how it had failed to spot them. Charlie made her way straight to the doctor's bed. She was ready to get her answers, one way or another. Setting her rifle down carefully, she looked at the doctor, who seemed as if she were even closer to consciousness.

Rachel asked Ruby to fetch her medical bag. Ruby quickly brought it to her. She reached inside and brought out a small item.

"Charlie," she called. "I have something here that might help." She extended her arm, urging Charlie to come to her and take the small packet from her hand.

Charlie came to her bedside quickly and looked down, then took the smelling salts from her. It made her smile.

"Just what we need! Thanks."

"Know how to use it?" asked Rachel.

"Snap it and hold it under her nose, right?"

Rachel nodded. "Good luck!"

Charlie, Joey and Ruby returned to the virologist's bed. Angelo and Chris stood nearby, watching intently.

Charlie held the small packet under the trembling doctor's nose and quickly broke it in two. It's foul-smelling contents were released into the air. Within moments the doctor's eyelids raised, revealing her unsightly eyeballs. Directly above the doctor's head was a strong light, and it's rays penetrated her pupils, inducing unbearable agony. She screamed in pain and closed her eyes again. Her hands roamed around, clutching at the unfamiliar surroundings. She quickly realised that she was in a bed and pulled herself up enough so that she sat upright. Her face contorted as she tried to fight the intense burning in her eye sockets.

Charlie, Joey and Ruby watched in amazement as the doctor regained consciousness. Was she even aware that anyone was near her. Charlie needed to know.

"Doctor ... can you hear me?" she asked softly.

The doctor flinched. She was still very confused. Her mind raced as she tried to think of the last thing she remembered. She drew a blank. Nothing materialised.

"Who are you?" she whispered. Her voice was hoarse.

Joey quickly fetched her a glass of water. "Here," she said, reaching the glass to her. The doctor did not respond. Joey reached down and took the doctor by the hand, startling her even more. She guided the glass between her fingers and helped her take a sip.

"Thank you," she said.

Joey took the glass from her again and set it down.

"My name is Senior Constable Charlie Buckton. There are some things I need to ask you."

"My eyes," groaned the doctor. "They hurt. Do you have ice?"

The others exchanged glances. None were aware of any ice vending machines nearby. Angelo had seen ice in the cafeteria, but there was no way he was going to risk another encounter with Arnold the over-amorous bodybuilder.

Rachel reached into her bag. "I have a cold pack in here somewhere," she said. As soon as she found it, she popped the tab inside and gave it to Ruby to give to the doctor. She held it against her eyes as the contents inside chemically reacted and solidified – turning the pack ice cold in the process. The relief was immediate – making her sigh!

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're still at Northern District Hospital," replied Charlie.

The doctor frowned. "What do you mean _still_? How did I get here?"

Charlie and Joey looked at each other, wide-eyed.

"You mean you don't remember how you got to the hospital?" asked Joey. "Or how you came to be in the sewers?"

"No ... last thing I remember I was ... I was ... on my way to ... umm"

The doctor was having difficulty remembering much of anything, but slowly her recollection of recent events was returning to her. She remembered a very anxious plane journey – and a very painful one at that. Her eyes stung during the entire flight. Then she remembered being picked up at the airport. After that, she remembered a struggle – but could not remember who with – or for what reason. Suddenly, she remembered the truth behind her urgent need to travel.

"Oh no," she cried. "_The virus_! _He released it ... before I had time to stop him_!"

Bloodied tears rolled down her cheeks as her sobbing increased. Ruby quickly fetched some tissues and handed them to the doctor. She found a pair of dark glasses on one of the bedside cabinets that had been abandoned by a previous patient and gave them to her also. The doctor put them on. They eased her pain a little.

Charlie glanced worriedly at Joey. This was not what she expected to hear at all. She had been prepared to interrogate Dr Alex Ryan-Kwanten to find out why Rohella had broken out – in her office in Atlanta. Her guilt seemed obvious!

"Who did?" asked Charlie. "Who released it?"

The doctor took a deep breath and prepared to answer. "Edward Van Leuwen – he's the chief of medicine here at the hospital. He planned it."

Charlie and Joey looked at one another with great concern. The rest of the survivors did likewise.

The next sentence from the doctor's lips left them even more confused.

"I came here to stop him."

To be continued ...


End file.
